


Found

by ShadowBunnyDragon



Category: Zootopia (2016)
Genre: F/M, Multi
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-11-24
Updated: 2019-07-23
Packaged: 2019-08-28 10:03:57
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 9
Words: 36,952
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16721262
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ShadowBunnyDragon/pseuds/ShadowBunnyDragon
Summary: This story was inspired by the amazing and wonderful stories The Rehabilitation of Dawn Bellwether and the sequel A Lamb Among Wolves by the very talented WastedTimeEE!Set five years after the events of ALAW, (so spoilers to anyone who hasn't read either yet) Dawn and Vernon have been looking into adopting a pup of their own. What they find is an adorable trio in need of a loving home, one of which being of an odd and so far unknown species.





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

  * Inspired by [The Rehablitation of Dawn Bellwether](https://archiveofourown.org/works/11385768) by [Wastedtimeee](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Wastedtimeee/pseuds/Wastedtimeee). 



> **Hi there, everyone! Here I am with a brand new series that I'm so happy to have started! It was inspired by the amazing emotional roller-coaster, _The Rehabilitation of Dawn Bellwether_ and its sequel, _A Lamb Among Wolves_ , both written by the wonderfully talented author, WastedTimeEE! I guess you could say that this is a fanfiction of a fanfiction. I hope that you enjoy it, and please feel free to tell me what you think!**

"Sweet sawgrass, Lamb Chop," the large grey wolf exclaimed. The two stepped up to a surprisingly well-kept building, the bronze lettering of the sign out front polished. "Can you believe how that lady was looking at us at the last place?" 

 

"I know, Vernon, but that was to be expected," Dawn said, reaching up to rub her mate's arm. He let out a sigh before he leaned down to pull her into a hug.

 

"It's just not right. Here we are, ready to provide a loving home for some kids, and gods know that they have a surplus of 'em, and what do they say? No," Vernon said with a growl. Dawn frowned as she wrapped her arms around his neck, still having to reach up a little due to the height difference, and tightened her hold.

 

"I know, Puppy Love," Dawn said, making direct eye contact with her mate, "but we both have to remember that I've got a criminal record."

 

Vernon gave a snort to that. "Honey Lamb, you have more than made up fer that. Anyone who still holds it against you is even more stubborn than my old mam."

 

The couple had been looking to adopt for quite some time, finding the process to be long and difficult. Dawn's record had been a source of some concern for many of the potential adoption agencies. That, combined with them being a predator and prey couple, had been sufficient for refusal from most of the places that they had tried.

 

"Besides, this place seemed a lot more promising when I made the appointment. They did a full background check and everything on us and still called us back," Dawn said, smiling reassuringly up at Vernon, feeling elated to see his muzzle curl up into a relaxed smile.

 

"Well, hopefully we'll find us a little pup and lamb who'll wanna come home with us," Vernon said, leaning down a little further to kiss his mate. They stood like that on the sidewalk for a few moments before they broke apart. It had been five years since they had been properly tithed and had their caprid ceremony, mating them together for life, and yet the little ewe still felt the butterflies in her stomach return every time they shared a kiss. Vernon smiled at her, his wagging tail revealing his own feelings, before he looked at the sign on the manicured lawn out front.

 

"Warm Hearts, Warm Hearths Children's Center," Vernon read aloud. The building wasn't particularly big, located in a residential area not too far from Little Rodentia. It was a red brick building, with five stories in total. There were quite a few windows through which happy squeals of children's laughter could be heard. Vernon held onto Dawn's hoof, giving it a gentle squeeze, as they strode up the front steps and entered.

 

They had just stepped onto hardwood flooring, with Vernon closing the door behind them, when a voice called out.

 

"Be with you in a moment." It was a soft feminine voice. "Please take a seat and make yourselves at home."

 

Vernon and Dawn did as instructed, heading towards the two chairs sitting before a desk right there in the main hall. They each took a seat, with Vernon helping Dawn into hers, due to her size. They had only to wait for a couple of minutes before the smiling face of a kangaroo dressed in a cream colored blouse and jeans appeared from the hallway. She took a seat opposite the two of them, behind the desk.

 

"Now are you two the Hunters?" she asked, putting on a pair of wire-rim glasses as she consulted a piece of paper on the desk.

 

"That's correct, Dawn and Vernon Hunter," Dawn said, feeling a swell of pride once more at referring to herself as a Hunter.

 

"Ah yes, you two are a little early," the kangaroo said with a shrug, "not that that matters in the least. I'm Amanda Hopper, we spoke on the phone."

 

"Oh, yes," Dawn said, remembering her chipper voice.

 

"Alright. Well, since we're having this conversation here, obviously that means that you two have been approved to adopt," Amanda said, smiling a little at the look of happiness that was apparent on the faces of the couple before her.

 

"Oh my goodness, that's wonderful! Isn't it, Puppy Love?" Dawn said, leaning over to take Vernon's paw in her hoof once again.

 

"It sure is, Lamb Chop," he said, gazing into her eyes before turning his attention to the kangaroo. "You have no idea how much this means to us."

 

"Oh, I think I might have an inkling," Amanda said before turning a picture in a frame on her desk to face the two. The picture showed the kangaroo before them with a tigress, both wearing white dresses and embracing while facing the camera. "My mate and I know that it can be a bit difficult for pred-prey couples to adopt."

 

Vernon and Dawn both nodded at this. "A-And you're sure that m-m-my," Dawn gulped as she struggled to get the words out, "criminal record isn't an issue?"

 

Amanda looked down at the ewe and smiled warmly. "Mrs. Hunter," (despite her nervousness, Dawn felt that sense of elation again at sharing Vernon's last name), "not only do I believe in rehabilitation for inmates and not only have I received some amazing letters of recommendation from some equally amazing mammals, but I'm also well aware of the fact that, despite your past, you are a hero who put her own life on the line to save others. In summation, no, that little blip on your file will not be making any difficulty for you two whatsoever here." Dawn smiled at that statement, visibly relaxing as a wave of relief washed over her.

 

"Now, according to you two, you're not looking for infants or toddlers, correct?" Amanda asked, consulting a file she had pulled out from a desk drawer.

 

"That's right," Vernon said, "we know that Zootopia's come a long way in the five years since my darlin's first book was released, in regards to predator and prey couples. But we still do get some flak for it, from time to time," Amanda nodded at this, (her smile becoming one of sympathy), "and when we talked it over, we decided that it would be unfair for a child to have to deal with the same thing, fer havin' a pred-prey couple fer parents, that didn't even ask fer it. So we want to look around the seven to eight age range, so that we could ask a potential pup or lamb whether or not they wanna take the risk."

 

"I see. Well, just so you know, not a whole lot of couples looking to adopt usually look for children over the age of three, which is all fine and good, but that doesn't do anything to help the older children," Amanda explained.

 

"We had heard that too," Dawn chimed in, "which is why we think that this would be for the best."

 

"Alright, now is there a specific reason why you are only looking for a wolf or sheep to adopt?" Amanda asked.

 

"W-Well, we felt that it would be easier for us to relate to some of the things that they'll go through as they get older, like the headbutting phase in the early teens," Dawn said.

 

"Or the urge to howl," Vernon added.

 

"Oh, b-but please don't think that we won't be willing to take any other children who would want us for parents. We just ultimately want to have kids, of any species," Dawn said.

 

"And any child who wants to take the plunge with us, we're going to love and care for them, no matter what," Vernon finished, still holding Dawn's hoof in his paw. Amanda's smile grew wider at the sight of them.

 

"Well, as it just so happens, there's both a little lamb and pup who are in that age range," Amanda said, "and they both are pretty open to the idea of being adopted by you two."

 

Vernon and Dawn both looked as though they could barely believe their ears.

 

"But there is a bit of a catch," Amanda said, noticing the worry beginning to cloud the faces of the couple before her, "you see, Alice and Trevor are very close to one another, as well as to a younger child. They actually view each other as siblings. And they have both made it absolutely clear that they refuse to be separated from one another..." Amanda trailed off, the kangaroo not knowing that she was starting to hold her breath.

 

"Oh! W-Well, w-we we've only ever discussed having one child... but trying to split up siblings, even siblings not related by blood, just sounds horrible!" Dawn said, looking over at her mate. "Puppy Love, what do you think?"

 

Vernon squeezed Dawn's hoof once again, before answering. "Well, Darlin', three little pups sure do sound like a bigger committment than just the one, but you're absolutely right, it would be wrong to try and split 'em up."

 

"D-Do you think that we could do it? That we could be parents to three little lambs?" Dawn hesitantly asked.

 

"It might not be easy, but I think that we can do it," Vernon said after a moment's thought.

 

Dawn leaned closer to her wolf. "I think so too, Puppy," she said, suddenly feeling her excitement grow.

 

"So then, Darlin', us havin' a litter of three sounds just fine to me," he said, his tail thumping against the back of the chair, making Dawn let out a giggle. Amanda released her held breath.

 

"Well, now, before anything else gets said and done, I should probably show you the three," Amanda said, picking up a book on her desk and flipping through the pages. She came to rest on one before handing the book to the couple for them to see for themselves. On the page was a picture of a young midnight black she-wolf who had an arm wrapped around a little black sheep boy and a strange little mammal, all three of whom were smiling as they leaned in close.

 

"That's Alice in the center, she's eight, and that's Trevor on the right, he just turned seven, and on the left is little Lily, we believe that she's six. Their unofficial little sister," Amanda explained. Dawn and Vernon both looked at the picture quizzically, trying to figure out the species of the third mammal.

 

"Lily looks like a cutie, that's for sure," Dawn said after a minute of examining the picture. Both of the girls were wearing matching yellow sundresses, while the lamb was wearing a yellow shirt and blue shorts. They were standing in a garden, a fountain right behind them. Dawn's eyes traced back to the picture of the little mystery mammal, her curiosity piqued. "But, uh, wh-wh-what species is she, exactly?"

 

Amanda frowned and leaned back in her chair. "That's just it, no one's been able to determine her species. She doesn't match anything on any registry whatsoever. All we know about her is that she's a mammal, and she was picked up off the streets at around three or four."

 

"The poor dear!" Dawn said, suddenly feeling an ache in her heart for the girl. She looked at the picture, taking in Lily's lack of muzzle and small nose. Aside from the long brown fur on the top of her head and her eyebrows, her face was completely furless, and the neck and exposed arms and shins suggested that she was devoid of fur all over. Dawn noticed her paws, yet another mystery. They were clearly not hooves, though she thought that they looked a bit like pale and furless versions of a raccoon's paws. Since Lily was at an angle, the ewe also noted a lack of a tail.

 

"So then... there's absolutely no record of a species like this, anywhere?" Dawn asked, feeling a small pit of worry form in her stomach.

 

"Not anywhere that we've looked into," the kangaroo confirmed. "She even had a DNA sample taken and tested, when she was picked up, and it just came back as an Unknown Species."

 

"That's gunna make relatin' to her a little difficult," Vernon said, scratching his chin. Dawn looked to her mate for any kind of sign of second thoughts, suddenly worried that their chance to become parents might have hit a slight snag. Dawn looked back to the picture, touching her hoof to it.

 

"Well, whatever she is," Vernon said, snapping Dawn out of her study of the picture, "she's more than welcome to join the Hunter clan, right, Honey Lamb?"

 

Dawn looked up at Vernon and smiled, before turning back to Amanda and handing her the book of photos back. "That's right," she said.

 

Amanda hopped up from her seat and clapped her paws together.

 

"Well, then, all that's left to do is the meet and greet. Feel up to it, you two?" Amanda asked.

 

"You bet," Vernon said, his tail thumping the chair again. Dawn had to stifle another giggle before she hopped down from her own chair, Vernon standing up right next to her. Amanda started to lead them down the nearest hall to a room with two couches sitting across from one another. She motioned for the two of them to take another seat, before going off to gather the three. Amanda returned a short while later, gently shepherding the three children, who matched their picture in the photo perfectly.

 

Alice, the little black furred pup, was holding the paw and hoof of the other two, apparently the leader. She was wearing a bright red shirt and grey shorts, her two yellow eyes looking over the couple warily as she stood in front of the other two in a protective fashion. The little lamb, Trevor, his wool also midnight black, was smiling hopefully at Dawn and Vernon. He was wearing a green _Adolescent Mutant Samurai Snakes_ shirt, depicting all four of the main reptile characters, and green shorts. Little Lily was the most timid of the three, glancing at Dawn and Vern from behind Alice, peeking over her shoulder from time to time. She was wearing a violet sundress, with her brown headfur in a ponytail, tied with a white ribbon in a bow. Her deep blue eyes were filled with worry, but also a twinge of hope. Her skin was almost a complete contrast to the other two, being very light and pale. They then all clambered up onto the other couch, with Lily tucking herself just behind Alice once more, looking out with those wide eyes.

 

"Alice, Trevor, Lily," Amanda addressed the children, who all turned to look at her, to see the kangaroo motioning to the couple on the opposite couch. "This is Mr. and Mrs. Hunter."

 

"Hello," Alice started, her voice cool and steady, but also friendly. Trevor simply waved, suddenly feeling shy, while Lily continued to stare, before being nudged by the wolf pup and squeaking out a polite hello as well.

 

"Hello there," Dawn said, smiling at the trio before them, her excitement barely being contained. She could feel and hear Vernon's tail happily thumping the couch, and she knew he felt the same way. She watched as all three of the children seemed to visibly relax, although Lily was still tucking herself behind Alice a bit. Dawn had to stop herself from cooing at the cuteness of it all, which was especially difficult considering that she could now see that Lily was a bit taller than Alice or Trevor.

 

"Hey there," Vernon said, making sure not to expose his teeth and potentially frighten them.

 

Unsure of how to proceed, Amanda politely guided all of them through the proper introductions. After a while of speaking, Dawn and Vernon told the children a bit about themselves, and the children did the same. That was how Vernon and Dawn came to learn that Alice loved playing soccer, Trevor enjoyed reading, and Lily loved to draw. It seemed that all five had become comfortable around one another when Trevor asked the question.

 

"Are you two gunna adopt us? Because we're not gunna leave Lily behind," Trevor stated firmly; "she's our little sister."

 

Amanda looked shocked at the suddenness of the question, looking to the couple to see how they reacted to it. The ewe and wolf looked to one another and smiled, before turning to the trio.

 

"Well, if'n you three don't mind the idea of us adoptin' ya, we'd be more than happy to take all of ya," Vernon said, almost chuckling at the look of surprise on the three faces.

 

Dawn then went on to explain that because they were a predator and prey couple they were sometimes harassed, and how they didn't want to potentially subject any children to that that didn't want to risk it.

 

"But," she added, "if you still would like us to adopt you, we promise that we'll do everything to make sure that you know you are loved and cared for and protected." Dawn held her breath and squeezed Vernon's paw as the children huddled up on the couch, whispering to each other. It was a short talk that ended with them turned back to face the couple, Alice speaking for the three.

 

"Okay... just so long as me and my brother and sister get to stay together," she said, hugging them close to her for emphasis.

 

Dawn and Vernon both simultaneously broke into happy grins, Dawn once again finding it hard not to coo at the cuteness of the three of them. They all excitedly spoke some more for nearly a half an hour before it was time for Dawn and Vernon to go. On their way out, Amanda assured them that the adoption process was going to be much quicker from that point on and that, in a few days, they'd be able to take their new children home with them. 

 

It wasn't until they were back in the car, a safe and family-friendly SUV, with the windows rolled up, that Vernon let loose a howl of pure joy, excitement, and relief. He normally was very good at suppressing his urge to howl, but this was a rare exception. Before Dawn could say a word, she was scooped up into his arms as he held her tight and kissed her passionately. Their lips broke apart and they cuddled each other closely for a moment, sharing in their happiness.

 

"This is really happening," Vernon said, his tail a blur of excitement as he spoke; "we're really going to get to be parents!"

 

"I know, Puppy Love," Dawn said as she rested her head on his chest, his scent flooding her nostrils and bringing with it the usual comfort that it brought, "this is like a dream come true."

 

"Oh, wow... oh, Darlin'," Vernon said as a thought suddenly struck him, "we gotta lot to do now. We gotta get the rooms all ready for them, gotta double check to make sure that the house is safe for them gotta, we gotta," Vernon said faster and faster as he became more and more nervous. Dawn wrapped her arms around his neck and kissed the side of his muzzle, calming him instantly.

 

"Everything's going to be okay, Puppy, all we really have to do is clear out a third room, which will be simple, and get another bed. We already checked, and double-checked, and quadruple-checked to make sure that the house is a safe place for children," Dawn reminded him.

 

"Right... I just... I don't know how to describe what I'm feelin' right now, Darlin'," Vernon said, receiving another peck on the muzzle before Dawn slid back into her own seat and buckled her seat belt. Vernon did the same before turning the keys and starting up the car, soon driving them to the house they had bought two years ago in one of the residential areas of Savannah Central. It was a two-story building with a garage, a small front yard and a large backyard. There were three bathrooms, a master bedroom and five other rooms, not counting the kitchen and living room. Vernon had converted what was the former owner's personal study into a home office, having finished his internship at the city's architecture department and earned himself a full-time position. 

 

Presently, he was working on a new library being built in Sahara Square, something that he was very excited about. Dawn had dedicated an entire room to writing, having published another two books and currently working on a third one, this one being a fantasy romance, which was a bit different from her other books. That had initially left the remaining rooms to be guest rooms or storage rooms, whatever was convenient. But when they had first decided to adopt, they started renting a storage unit, and transferred all of the excess items there.

 

Only after the car was safely in the garage and the two were inside did they let their excitement get the better of them once again, with Dawn being picked up and perched on Vernon's shoulder as he let loose another howl. She laughed and lightly smacked her hoof against his head.

 

"Vernon, how many times have I told you to stop doing this?" she asked, an excited giggle in her voice. Vernon just smiled slyly.

 

"And how many times do I have to remind you that you know you love it when I do this?" he asked back. They were brought out of their excitement by the ringtone coming from Vernon's pocket. He fished out his phone and confirmed that the caller was his mother. He set Dawn down before answering it.

 

"Hey there, Ma," he said.

 

"Hi Vernon, didja have any luck today with making me a grandma?" Audrey asked; while she knew when to be tactful, she sometimes chose to be blunt. In her desire to have one of her children finally give her grandpups, her default was usually bluntness.

 

"Actually... yes... we've got three pups that we're gunna be takin' in," Vernon said, wanting to add more, but the excited howl coming from the other end of the phone cutting off all further conversation. Dawn smiled, loving how excited her mother-in-law was at the news. Then her own phone started to buzz, and she checked to find that her own mother was calling, most likely to also ask about the adoption. Vernon and Dawn made eye contact, their joy apparent for anyone to see.

 

After further explaining the details to their parents, and another passion filled kiss, Vernon swept up Dawn into his arms and ran upstairs with her perched onto his shoulders. They came to a stop in the hall, both peering in to the open door immediately on their left. Aside from a small bed and dresser it was bare. But for a moment, to their hopeful eyes, they both shared a vision of a room with some toys scattered about, the sheets and quilt on the bed a rumpled mess. A true child's room.

 

"Vernon?" The ewe's voice grabbed the wolf's attention, and he turned to face Dawn.

 

"Yes, Darlin'?" he asked in his deep voice.

 

"We're really going to be parents." It was a statement, not a question, a tear in the corner of her eye. Vernon reached up, gently nudging aside her glasses, and wiped away the tear.

 

"It's really happenin', Lamb Chop, it really is," Vernon said. That earned him a tight embrace from his mate around his neck as he led the two of them to the bedroom. He sat down on their large circular bed, with Dawn slipping down into his lap, pulling his muzzle close so that their lips could meet. He wrapped his paws around her waist, letting her guide him. Once again, their phones started to buzz, interrupting the two, who gazed into each other's eyes and smiled.

 

"And that would be Gus callin'," Vernon said as he looked at his phone.

 

"Judy's calling too," Dawn said.

 

Rather than answering their phones, they laid down with one another, Vernon curling his body around Dawn, enjoying the scent of her, his tail thumping down on the mattress.

 

"That little pup seemed like she was pretty used to shielding the other two," Vernon said, thinking back to how Alice had continually stayed a little bit in front of Lily and Trevor.

 

"I know what you mean, Puppy," Dawn said, inhaling Vernon's scent and snuggling closer into his exposed chest fur, "she seems like a good big sister."

 

"The little lamb, Trevor," Dawn started after another moment of enjoying her wolf's presence, "I think that he's going to be quite the bookworm."

 

"Just like his new mother," Vernon's voice rumbled, his chest vibrating against her muzzle as he spoke. Vernon could feel Dawn's bright smile, even though her face was obscured.

 

"Lily," Dawn said, hesitating for a moment, "I don't know what species she is... but the poor dear just seemed so scared... I just wanted to give her a big hug and tell her that everything is going to be alright."

 

"I know what ya mean, Darlin'," Vernon said as they moved a bit apart, their phones buzzing some more, which they both continued to ignore, just laying side by side and enjoying the comfort of each other. "I can't even begin to imagine what it must be like to live in an orphanage, and on top of that, to not even know what you are. That couldn't have been easy."

 

Dawn reached out and took Vernon's paw into her hooves. "It can't have been easy for any of them. In fact, that theory that Amanda said someone had about Lily, the one about her being some kind of deformed sheep, even if it's true, that's not going to stop us from showering her with the same amount of love and attention as her brother and sister."

 

"Not one bit," Vernon confirmed, before their phones both buzzed again, both the bunny cop and the goat showing the same amount of persistence. With a simultaneous roll of their eyes, they both answered their friends' calls.

 

"Dawn!" came Judy's voice from the ewe's phone, "Is everything okay? How'd the interview go?"

 

"Everything's fine, Judy, better than fine, actually. We're going to be parents," Dawn said. There was a pause as Dawn let the information sink in, before she started to wonder if they had gotten disconnected. Then there was a loud squeal of pure joy that made Dawn concurrently smile and wince a little.

 

"Oh, sweet cheese and crackers, FINALLY!" Judy said.

 

"Hello there, Gus," Vernon said, while Dawn filled Judy in on the details.

 

"Hiya Vern, how'd it go?" the goat asked.

 

"Surprisingly better than any of the other times. Dawn and I'll be a ma and pa," he said, holding back a chuckle as he heard Gus let out an excited bleat.

 

"That's wonderful, Vern, so what's your new kid gunna be?" Gus asked on the other end.

 

"Well, we're going to be takin' in three pups," Vernon said.

 

"Three?" Gus asked, surprised. "Three kids? Were they havin' a sale?" Gus joked.

 

"No, but they were a package deal," Vernon explained, "they wouldn't be separated, not that we were gunna separate siblings, even adopted siblings like these three."

 

"Okay... so what are they?" Gus asked.

 

"Well, two little girls and a little boy. They are a wolf pup, and little lamb, and a... well, no one really knows what species she is, but she's just the cutest little mystery mammal."

 

"Oh really? Well congratulations, buddy," Gus said, meaning it, "I can't wait to meet your new kids."

 

"Dawn!" Judy said after she had been filled in on the details, "you're about to become a mommy!" The bunny practically squealed in delight.

 

"And they're hittin' the ground running on this whole parent-thing, it would seem," came the voice of Nick, whose muzzle with his classic smirk poked into view for Dawn to see.

 

"I know, three little kits, it'll probably be like a dream come true for them!" Judy said, turning to look up at Nick, a dreamy look in her eyes. "Really makes you think, huh, Slick?"

 

Nick's face suddenly lost its smirk, the expression on his muzzle becoming very uncomfortable.

 

"Uh.. wh-whaddya mean, Carrots?" Nick asked, tugging at the collar of his police uniform.

 

"Well, we could also help make a wonderful difference in the life of a--" Judy started, innocently, before the fox cut her off.

 

"Oops, didja hear that call on the radio? Looks like I'd better go take care of that!" he said, his face suddenly disappearing.

 

"Oh, that dumb fox," Dawn heard Judy mumble before the bunny smiled at her and offered yet another congratulation, clearly chasing after Nick.

 

"NICK! I don't know where you think you're going, but you-" Judy's voice could be heard before the call cut off. Dawn giggled at the antics of her dear friends, Vernon having heard some of what had transpired and rumbling out another deep chuckle of his own.

 

"I have a feeling that they're gunna be adoptin' their own little ones pretty soon, Darlin'," Vernon said as he set his phone on the nightstand, his conversation with Gus having ended a little while ago. He then pulled Dawn back into his embrace, his tail wagging again as they cuddled closely. "Twenty bucks says that they'll start looking by the end of the week."

 

"Oh, Puppy, don't be ridiculous," Dawn said as she looked up into Vernon's gaze, "the end of the month will be much more likely."

 

"Heh... y'know, Honey Lamb, just because we're already adoptin' doesn't mean we can't try to become parents the old fashioned way," Vernon suggested with a wink.

 

"True," Dawn said, pretending to consider this, "but I don't remember ever hearing about a wolf and a sheep interbreeding before."

 

"Doesn't sound like much of an excuse to not try to me, Darlin," Vernon said, his voice growing huskier.

 

"You make a very compelling argument, Puppy Love," Dawn said just before she removed her glasses and set them next to their phones on the nightstand.


	2. Chapter 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> **Hello again and happy holidays! I am excited to bring to you the newest chapter of _Found_! Once again, this story has been proofread by my good friend, _Trismegistus Shandy_! I hope that you enjoy the new chapter!**

"So whaddya think, Darlin'?" Vernon asked as he and Dawn both stood in the hall, looking at the three bedrooms that they had prepared for the children. After the interview and meeting with the three, the couple had then gone out shopping for things to help furnish the rooms. They bought another two different sized mattresses, with Lily's being the biggest, a variety of stuffed animals, a soccer ball for Alice, some drawing and art supplies for Lily, and an entire bookshelf of fantasy and science fiction books for Trevor, just to name some of the things that they had gotten. The couple had been worried, on the day of the home inspection, that they hadn't bought enough, but the squirrel caseworker has assured them that their home was perfect.

 

"I think that they're going to love it," Dawn said, leaning closer to her mate to hug him tightly around the waist, having to stand on her tip-hooves to do so.

 

"I did make sure to keep all the receipts, just in case there are some things that they don't want," Vernon said, smiling.

 

"Good idea," Dawn said, her voice starting to crack with emotion. Vernon turned to gaze down at the little ewe, and returned her hug.

 

"Honey Lamb," the large wolf said softly, looking confused, "what's the matter?"

 

"Nothing, Puppy, it's just..." Dawn said, smiling as she removed her glasses to wipe at her eyes before continuing, "tomorrow... we're bringing our little lambs home. Tomorrow... w-we officially become a mommy and daddy."

 

Vernon's smile grew, and without a moment's hesitation, Dawn found herself scooped up into his strong arms, being kissed passionately. They broke apart after a moment, still hugging one another tightly.

 

"I know what'cha mean, Darlin'," Vernon said, his tail wagging, "I just feel so excited, happy, and nervous all at the same time."

 

"I'm still worried about Lily," Dawn confessed, feeling a pang of guilt, but pushing that feeling away, "but I know that we'll do everything we can to be the best mother and father for all three of them."

 

"Absolutely," Vernon said.

 

"You know," Dawn started after a few moments of simply enjoying the moment with her mate, "just because Child Services cannot find any information about Lily's species, that doesn't mean that there is no way to find out anything."

 

"Oh?" Vernon said, smirking, knowing full well that a plan was forming in the ewe's mind.

 

"I have a few ideas, but I need to do a little more research first," Dawn said. She didn't get the chance to say anymore due to Vernon's phone buzzing. The wolf rolled his eyes as he fished it out, seeing that it was his brother Wade this time who had called.

 

"Hey there, Wade," Vernon said after answering the call.

 

"Heya, Vern, so what's this I hear about you and Dawn adopting an entire litter of pups?" Wade wasted no time.

 

"Where'd ya hear that?" Vernon asked, confused, what with he and Dawn having only told a few friends and their parents so far.

 

"Qali called Giselle a little while ago, saying that Vanna had told her that you and Dawn had gone on to adopt seven pups, all of different species," Wade explained. "And I gotta say, Vern, I'm wondering why I had to go and hear about it secondpaw like that. But also, are you sure that you two can care for seven pups all at once?"

 

Vernon had brought his paw up to his face, while Dawn tried to hold back a giggle.

 

"Why would Vanna know anything about any of this? We haven't told either her or Zach yet," Vernon wondered.

 

"Zach accidentally overheard Ma on the phone with you, and immediately told Vanna when he got home," Wade explained.

 

"I'm still a little surprised that Vanna would just go and call up Qali to talk about this without waiting to get all the facts first," Vernon said, a little frustrated at the tigress, but also at Zach.

 

"Well... she didn't," Wade continued his explanation, "Qali called her up to chat and somehow picked up that Vanna knew something, and, well, you know how persistent Qali can be..."

 

"That does make more sense," Vernon agreed, knowing the arctic vixen well enough.

 

"Right, so after a few minutes of interrogating her, Vanna spilled the beans," Wade said.

 

"Okay... so have you guys told anyone else?" Vernon asked.

 

"No, we haven't, but it still hurts to be kept out of the loop like that, Vern," Wade said, his tone of voice making Vernon's tail tuck itself between his legs reflexively as a wave of guilt washed over him.

 

"Wade, me and Dawn have been busy gettin' everything at the house ready fer them," Vernon explained, trying to assuage Wade's feelings. He left out their reasoning for not telling the rest of the Hunter guys and gals was that they wanted to let the children acclimate to their new home gradually, before exposing them to all of their clamoring aunts and uncles.

 

"Wait... didja just say _them_?" the wolf on the other end said, surprise in his voice. "You two really went and got yourselves seven pups?!" Dawn's giggle could not be suppressed while Vernon rolled his eyes.

 

"Calm down Wade, we didn't adopt seven of 'em. We're adoptin' three pups," Vernon explained.

 

"Oh..." Wade said after a moment of silence. "Well... that's still more than I thought that you'd be willing to take in."

 

"I know, but the three of 'em had already formed a tight bond, callin' each other brother and sisters, that they wouldn't be separated, not that we woulda ever thought of splittin' 'em up," Vernon said, the corners of his muzzle starting to turn back up into a smile at the memory of how adamant the three had been.

 

"Oh, really?" Wade said, letting out a chuckle. "Well, that makes sense. With no one else in their lives, I can totally see three little wolves forming a bond just as strong as blood siblings."

 

"Well, actually, only one of 'em, the oldest, is a wolf," Vernon said.

 

"Oh? And what are the other two? Also canids?" Wade asked.

 

"No, at least we don't think so," Vernon explained; "the other two are a little lamb... and we don't really know what species the youngest one is."

 

"Really now?" Wade's curiosity was clearly piqued. "What'd the orphanage have to say?"

 

"They don't know what she is either. They had a DNA sample tested, but it came back Unknown," Vernon said.

 

"So no one knows anything? That's... odd..." Wade said, not sure of what to say.

 

"True, but we're still takin' her in, along with her brother and sister," Vernon said, already starting to feel a swell of pride.

 

"Oh no, I didn't mean anything by it, Vern," Wade suddenly backtracked, "that's going to be my niece after all. And I'm sure she's a cutie."

 

"I know that you didn't, Wade. And yeah, they're all cute," Vernon said.

 

"So what are their names?" Wade asked. Vernon happily told his brother the names of their pups before Wade had to go, seeing as he was still on duty. They both said their farewells and ended the call.

 

"So," Vernon started, looking down at Dawn, "you heard what Wade said about Qali, right?"

 

"Oh, yes. Which probably means that everyone else has heard that we're apparently adopting seven pups," Dawn said.

 

"...So much fer keepin' it all under wraps..." Vernon said, right before his phone started to buzz again. He looked at the screen to see who was calling now. "And now Xavier's callin'." Dawn found her own phone buzzing, to see that it was Malcolm calling her. 

 

"Dawn," the voice of the chubby wolf could be heard the second that she accepted his call, "are you and Vernon really adopting twelve pups?! And all of different species! And more importantly, you tried to keep it a secret. That hurts, Dawn," Malcolm whimpered. "Hunter sisters, honorary or otherwise, shouldn't keep secrets like that from one another." Dawn was flabbergasted, both at how upset Malcolm was as well as the increased number of their supposed litter. She began to explain things to Malcolm while Vernon was being chewed out by his mate.

 

"Honestly, Vernon, this is just irresponsible," Xavier lectured his brother while Vernon groaned.

 

"Xavier, this is all bein' blown way outta proportion," Vernon said, unable to get any further words in edgewise.

 

"No, becoming the parents of seventeen adopted pups all at once is what was blown out of proportion," Xavier started, on a roll. "Not telling your family about this huge and life changing event, for whatever reasons you and Dawn may have had, is nothing short of insulting. I am your brother and your attorney. You had no problem consulting me about your rights as a predator and prey couple adopting. And yet, today, I received a very frantic voicemail from Ulfric about you taking in _seventeen_ \--" Vernon let out a frustrated growl and cut off his brother in mid-rant.

 

"Xavier, we only adopted three pups. _Three_!" he said. "And we didn't want to tell anyone just yet so that when we bring 'em home, tomorrow, they can go about acclimatin' slowly, without gettin' all overwhelmed and such."

 

Xavier was silent for a few moments before he cleared his throat.

 

"I see," he said, letting the pause hang there, "well... perhaps I may have overreacted." Vernon rolled his eyes at this admission but chose to say nothing. In the awkward silence of his own conversation, he could hear Dawn explaining to Malcolm what was really going on. His brother-in-law's excited voice could be heard. Already he was planning on a three-tiered cake to bake for the pups. Finally, Xavier spoke again.

 

"Well then... while it was still a tad wounding... I must confess that I can see your point..." Vernon rolled his eyes, his muzzle curled up into a smile. He and Xavier talked a little longer, with Vernon telling his brother more information about his new nieces and nephew, before hanging up. Dawn had just said goodbye to Malcolm when his phone chimed.

 

"I guess everyone wants to weigh in about this," Dawn said.

 

"I'll say," Vernon said as he tapped on his phone. "Even Yuri is getting in on it."

 

Dawn looked up at her mate curiously as he read her the text that Vernon's brother, Yuri, had sent.

 

"It's two laughing with tears wolf face izoojis followed by sayin' _'I can't believe that you went and let her talk ya into gettin' twenty-six pups'_ followed by two more laughing izoojis and _'she's sure got you whipped, Puppy'._ " Vernon frowned at that.

 

"Why does the number keep getting bigger?" Dawn asked, confused.

 

"I'd go and put my money on Qali," Vernon mused. They spent the rest of the afternoon explaining the facts about the adoption to the remaining boys and girls of the Hunter clan, including another text, but from Ulfric. Vernon rolled his eyes again after he read it, for it was mostly a warning about how out of the thirty-one pups he had heard that they were adopting, the number having apparently increased yet again for some unknown reason, several of them could have been shape-shifters. The call-fest ultimately ended with Vanna calling up Dawn. 

 

The tigress had felt very remorseful after telling Qali what she had thought she had overheard, and sounded a little upset as she apologized to the ewe. Dawn couldn't find it in herself to be angry with her sister-in-law. She too knew that Qali could be quite persistent, the arctic vixen having some boundary issues, and also knew that Vanna was truly remorseful. She comforted her over the phone, accepted her apology, cleared up the misconception, and then promised that she and Vernon would be sure to bring their pups to the ranch to meet their new auntie.

 

Night came and went mostly without incident, the couple both equal parts too excited and too nervous to initially sleep, but sleep they did. Dawn awoke first, her wolf curled around her and cuddling the little ewe close. She smiled and nuzzled the ruff of fur on his chest, before remembering what the day was. She looked over at the clock and saw that it was a quarter past nine in the morning.

 

"Puppy," Dawn said, prodding Vernon's chest with a hoof "get up! We need to get ready! Our appointment is less than an hour away!"

 

"Five more minutes, Floofs," Vernon mumbled in his sleep, his tail starting to slowly thump as he pulled his mate closer. Dawn smiled, always enjoying snuggling close to Vernon, yet let out a sigh, knowing full well that they didn't have time to savor being in one another's embrace this particular morning.

 

"No, Vernon, we need to get up and get ready. Today's the day we're bringing our little lambs home," Dawn said. The wolf's eyes shot wide open at that, just before he sat bolt upright with Dawn in his arms, the sudden motion making Dawn let out a surprised squeak.

 

"Teeth to tails, Honey Lamb!" he said as he set her down and scrambled out of bed and rushed out of their room. Dawn let out a sigh and smiled after her mate, hearing his voice coming back in from the hall.

 

"Hurry up, Lamb Chop, we don't wanna be late!" Dawn rolled her eyes a little before hopping down off their bed and following her mate's excited lead. After a very quick shower and a light breakfast for the two, Vernon drove them down to the Children's Center with ten minutes to spare.

 

"This is it," Vernon said, his voice a whisper, "it's actually about to happen."

 

Dawn looked over at her mate and saw that his face was a reflection of her own emotions. It was a mix of excitement and nervousness. She reached over with a hoof and took his paw into hers, squeezing it.

 

"It really is, Puppy," she said soothingly, watching as a smile broke out onto her mate's muzzle; "let's go get our children."

 

Vernon nodded, leaning over to bring his muzzle close to hers.

 

"I love you, Dawn," he said just before their lips made contact. Their kiss only lasted for a moment before they ended it.

 

"I love you, Vernon," the ewe said after they broke apart. They got out of the SUV, and made their way towards the entrance. The sky was cloudless and bright, the sunlight glinting on the polished bronze of the sign out front. Vernon reached down to take his mate's hoof as they strode towards the door that stood between them and their children. His tail slowly started to wag as he opened the door for his wife and followed her inside. They were greeted by Amanda, the kangaroo seeming just as excited as the couple felt. She led them to the couches where they'd first met the three and had them wait while she went to go and collect them.

 

She returned shortly afterwards, ushering the little pup, the lamb, and the mystery mammal into the room. Alice was standing defensively in front of her brother and sister, with Lily holding Trevor's hoof. Today Alice was wearing a green shirt with white shorts. Trevor was wearing a shirt as black as his wool, again with the _Adolescent Mutant Samurai Snakes_ on the front and a pair of jeans. Lily was wearing a bright blue T-shirt and jeans. All three had little suitcases to take their possessions with them.

 

"Hey there, pups," Vernon said, attempting to break the building nervous tension. His tail thumped happily on the couch, eliciting a giggle from Lily. Alice turned to look at her sister, her own tail beginning to wag at the sight of Lily smiling. Trevor tried to suppress his own giggle, not doing a particularly good job. Alice turned back to the couple sitting on the couch.

 

_These ones are actually going through with it,_ the little she-wolf thought to herself.

 

"Hello," Alice said, her brother and sister echoing her greeting after getting their giggles under control, "so do we get to go home with you now?" Alice always preferred to get right to the point.

 

"Absolutely," Dawn said, just wanting to rush over and envelop all three of the little lambs in a hug. She held back on that instinct, feeling that such an action might frighten them, especially little Lily.

 

"You really mean it?" Trevor's voice piped up, looking both excited and worried.

 

"We really do," Vernon said gently, smiling as his tail started to wag even faster, prompting another giggle from the little mystery mammal. "And just what's so darn funny?" he asked in a comical voice. Alice looked from Vernon to Lily and smiled, an action that Dawn and Vernon both noticed. 

 

After that, the children all said their goodbyes to Amanda, who leaned down to hug each of them in turn. The kangaroo seemed a little sad at saying goodbye to the children, yet happy that they had found a home. Dawn and Vernon could barely contain themselves as they packed up their new children's belongings, and helped them into their individual booster seats in the back. The drive back home was filled with happy chatter, yet Dawn did notice that along the way, more than a few mammals who spotted Lily looked at her oddly. She also took note of how anxious Lily started to appear as a result. She was just about to say some words of comfort to her when her brother beat her to it.

 

"Everything's gunna be okay, Lily," the little black lamb said as he reached over to his sister and gave her a hug. Lily immediately calmed down as she hugged him back. Dawn smiled at the sweetness of the display.

 

"That's right, Princess," Vernon chipped in, smiling as he looked back at them in the rearview mirror. The wolf's heart swelled with pride at how her face just lit up at being given the nickname. They all arrived home safely, the children all straining to look at their new home with wide eyes as the car pulled into the driveway. As they got out, Dawn noticed how, now that they were in an unfamiliar setting, they naturally seemed to huddle close to one another, with Alice taking a natural stance in front.

 

_She's their protector,_ Dawn thought. She held a hoof out to the little wolf, who looked at it oddly, before slowly taking it in her paw. Dawn smiled warmly at her new children and led them inside, while Vernon opted to get their luggage from the car. They showed their children to the rooms that they had set up for them, Dawn still holding Alice's paw.

 

"We get our own rooms?" she asked, surprised.

 

"You sure do, sweetheart," Dawn said, once more just barely resisting the urge to pull them into a hug, still wanting to take things slow with them.

 

"And we went and got y'all some things we thought you would like. But if there's anything there that you don't want, then don't be afraid to tell us. We won't mind taking it back," Vernon said as he carried their suitcases into the appropriate bedrooms. He saw how Trevor was eyeing the bookshelf in his room, clearly already smitten with the selection of fantasy and sci-fi.

 

_Like mother, like son,_ Vernon thought with a chuckle.

 

"A-And this stuff is really... all ours?" Trevor asked, looking up at Vernon with a pair of wide brown eyes.

 

"Yup," Vernon said, "if you want 'em."

 

Alice looked like she wanted to practically pounce on her new soccer ball, and Lily smiled at the easel in her room. She then turned back to Dawn and Vernon, who had taken a step back to watch the children, and looked at them quizzically.

 

"Does this mean we get to call you 'Mommy' and 'Daddy' now?" she asked candidly. Both her brother and sister turned first to look at their little sister, and then turned to look at the couple.

 

"Well," Dawn said, feeling Vernon take her hoof in his paw, "only if you're comfortable with it."

 

There was another uncomfortable silence before Lily, much to the surprise of both Trevor and Alice, stepped towards the wolf and the ewe, and then silently started to hold her arms out. Dawn couldn't resist any longer and let go of Vernon's paw to embrace her new youngest daughter. She was careful not to hug too tight, yet she held her close, her eyes becoming hot and prickly with the sensation of oncoming tears of joy. 

 

She still had no clue as to what the little mammal was -- even at age six, she was already taller than herself -- but she didn't care. She was hugging her daughter close, and that was all that mattered. She looked up at Trevor and Alice, and offered them a place in the hug as well. Trevor was quick to join in, followed by Alice, the pup's tail slowly starting to wag. Once all three were embracing Dawn, Vernon kneeled down and reached around to hug all of them together.

 

They all started to settle in after the family hug. The kids were shown around the house, as well as the backyard, with Alice getting excited at the idea of a treehouse that Vernon floated by them. After lunch, Vernon played with them out in the backyard, while Dawn elected to call up their friends and family, to update them all on how everything had gone.

 

The first one she called was Judy, who promptly answered excitedly, once more hinting that she was going to be working on Nick about adoption again. Dawn smiled when she heard the russet fox groan in the background. She was a little surprised to hear Vanna let out a squeal when she described how everything had been going so far, and once more promised that she would get to meet her new nieces and nephew. There was a similar reaction from Audrey, who was so excited to learn that she was finally a grandmother, and who let out another excited howl. Dawn also spoke to Dorian, who seemed to find it interesting that little Alice was so naturally protective, hinting that maybe she was going to be naturally cut out for a career in law enforcement, before Audrey cut him off, and made Dawn promise that they would bring their grandpups up to meet them very soon.

 

Before they knew it, the afternoon started to become evening. She got started on dinner, making fish filets for Vernon and Alice, while making veggie burgers for herself, Trevor, and Lily. While unsure of what species she was, her file had said that a diet of fruits and vegetables was safe for her to eat. It had also suggested that she was an omnivore, based on her teeth, but they would wait until after the pediatrician appointment before serving her meat. Dinner was a happy affair, with a lot of back and forth questions. Dawn and Vernon asked their new children about themselves, and the three responded in kind.

 

After dinner, they all lounged in the living room, watching some family-friendly TV. At around eight thirty, Lily let out a yawn, which Trevor and Alice found to be contagious. The kids brushed their teeth and changed into their pajamas, Trevor once more wearing something with the Samurai Snakes on it, having confirmed that it was one of his favorite shows. Vernon read Lily a bedtime story, and Dawn did the same for Trevor. Alice had seemed reluctant to be tucked in by Dawn, but didn't outright refuse. It was as Dawn was closing the door, having turned off the light and wished Alice a good night, that the pup let out a whimper.

 

"What's wrong, sweetie?" Dawn asked. The pup looked like she was struggling to answer, and continued to whimper a little.

 

"C-Can I have the light on?" she asked, the problem suddenly becoming obvious to the ewe.

 

_Alright, adding a night light to the list,_ Dawn thought as she walked over to her pup's bed, planting a loving kiss on Alice's forehead.

 

"Of course, sweetie," she said, now noticing the stuffed grey rabbit plush toy that Alice was trying to hide behind her back, its long ears poking out from behind her, "and you know that if you need anything, we're just down the hall, okay?"

 

"Okay..." the pup said, now looking more embarrassed than scared. Dawn kissed her once more on the forehead, seeing her daughter's tail wag a little under the covers, before saying good night once more and shutting the door behind her, leaving a bedside lamp on. Dawn, after changing into a nightgown, climbed into bed with Vernon, snuggling close into his fur, burying her face in his chest ruff.

 

"Vernon?" she asked, looking up into his eyes.

 

"Yes, Darlin'?" he asked back, smiling down at her.

 

"We're a mommy and daddy now." Her voice was full of wonder. Vernon snuggled closer to his mate, and the two lay like that. They both tried to go to sleep, but their excitement was once more keeping them up. After another half an hour, they both decided to get up, and check in on their children. Dawn's heart skipped a beat when she quietly opened Alice's bedroom door, to find the pup missing from her bed. Vernon looked just as worried as Dawn after he poked his head into Trevor's room, the little lamb also missing. They both, panicking, went to check on Lily. Right there, underneath the covers on Lily's much larger bed, were Alice and Trevor, with Lily in the middle. They were all snuggled close, sleeping peacefully. 

 

Vernon let out a quiet sigh of relief as Dawn's fast-beating heart began to slow back down. The two new parents looked on and watched the three sleep. They stayed there, just watching, feeling a wave of emotion wash over them, before finally heading back to bed. They smiled as they cuddled close, the day feeling like a dream to them both. They were both thrilled at the prospect of waking up tomorrow as parents.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> **And there you have it, folks! Please feel free to leave a review!**


	3. Chapter 3

Vernon smiled as his eyes slowly cracked open, drinking in the morning light as it drifted in through the open window. He yawned and stretched, his tail letting out a few thumps on the mattress as he reached out to instinctively cuddle his ewe close. Not finding her diminutive form helped rouse the wolf from his sleep-addled state, and he sat up. As he looked around their room, a smile graced his muzzle as his ears perked and followed the sounds of children laughing. His and Dawn's children. Their pups.

 

Not wasting any time, even to take care of his bedfur, Vernon scrambled out of bed and made his way out into the hall. He peeked inside the bedrooms of his newly adopted pups as he passed, seeing all three empty. His mind flitted back to the first night after bringing them home, how all three had decided to sleep together in the same bed. In the two weeks since the adoption, Dawn and Vernon had made it a habit to check in on the kids each night. They usually all slept in their own beds, but every now and again they would sleep together, a sight that warmed the wolf and ewe's hearts.

 

Vernon made his way downstairs, where the laughter was loudest, to find his youngest pup, Lily, sitting on the couch. She was smiling as she colored on a piece of paper with a set of crayons. They had still not yet been able to discern any new information about her species, but that mattered little to Vernon. The wolf had already come to think of Lily as his little princess.

 

She was looking up and giggling at the sight of her big sister, Alice, and her big brother, Trevor, wrestling and giggling. The little black wolf pup's tail was wagging in excitement as she pinned the little black lamb and proceeded to tickle him. Normally Trevor was quite timid, but Vernon and Dawn had noted that he seemed to have become a bit more comfortable in their time living with them, and broken a bit out of his shell. Alice was easily the most outgoing of all three. She loved playing games, especially soccer, wrestling and, much to Dawn's fear, climbing things.

 

"Uncle!" Trevor said in between uncontrollable giggles. Alice hopped off of the lamb before turning to face her sister.

 

"Your turn, Lily!" Alice said, advancing slowly on the little furless mammal with both paws held out as if to pounce. Lily let out a yelp and hopped down from the couch, the soft brown mane of fur atop her head waving to and fro, and started to run behind the couch. Alice let out a happy yip as she gave chase. Lily came around the other side and, spotting Vernon, made a beeline for him, her arms outstretched.

 

"Save me, Daddy!" Lily squealed as she practically leapt into Vernon's arms. Vernon wagged his tail and chuckled. He felt a warmth in his heart once again at being called Daddy. Lily had been the first of the three to start calling them Mommy and Daddy. Trevor followed after the first week. Alice seemed to be having trouble with it, which Dawn and Vernon both made sure to assure her that that was just fine. She could call them by their first names if she desired.

 

"Well now, what have we here? A little princess being chased by a little tickle monster?" Vernon said in his deep rumbling voice. Lily hugged him around his neck and giggled while Alice couldn't hold back her own laughter.

 

"Uh-huh!" Lily said, nodding emphatically.

 

"But then, wait? Why would you so willingly jump into the claws of an even bigger tickle monster?" Vernon asked in mock surprise. Lily's eyes went wide as she tried to wriggle out of Vernon's grip before he started tickling her. Lily burst out laughing while Alice giggled and wagged her tail.

 

"Wait a minute... did I just hear another little princess for the giant tickle monster to capture as well?" Vernon asked, now the one to be advancing on the pup. Alice let out a squeak, and tried to scamper away, before finding herself right next to Lily in Vernon's arms, being tickled mercilessly.

 

"Mwaha-ha-ha! I have you now!" Vernon said, suddenly noticing Dawn peeking in from the kitchen, smiling, and snapping some pictures with her phone.

 

"Mornin', Honey Lamb," Vernon said as he set the girls down and turned to address his mate.

 

"Good morning, Puppy," the little ewe responded. Vernon strode right over to her and bent down to plant a kiss on her cheek. Just as she was standing on her tip-hooves, Vernon's nose started twitching.

 

"Didja go and make breakfast today?" Vernon asked, smelling the Prench toast.

 

"Sure did, Puppy Love." They both chose to ignore the snickering coming from the children as a result of their pet names for one another. "I figured that today was worth a special treat."

 

"Why's that?" Vernon asked, frowning a little as he tried to remember the day's significance.

 

"Today's the day that our little lambs meet their auntie Qali and uncle Trenton," Dawn reminded her mate as she turned to the children.

 

"Alright, kids, breakfast is ready," Dawn said, trying to stifle a giggle as Alice and Trevor were tickle-wrestling once more, only to quickly break apart and start running towards the kitchen, with Lily in tow.

 

"No running in the house," Dawn said, no true sternness to her voice. Vernon even noticed how the little ewe said it with a smile, knowing how excited she still was to be a mother.

 

"Sorry, Mommy," Lily said, the apology echored by her siblings. The three made their way to the kitchen table, their new parents following behind. Dawn just couldn't believe the feeling of joy she experienced every time Lily called her Mommy. Just before the kids could take their seats, Dawn rushed over to give them each a hug. She let go of a slightly embarrassed-looking, yet happy Alice just before her phone started to buzz. Dawn pulled it out, adjusting her glasses, to find that she had received a text from Qali.

 

It was a series of izoojis of arctic fox faces with hearts for eyes along with the message 'Will be over to meet kits ASAP! YAY!', followed by more happy arctic fox izoojis.

 

"It looks like Qali is going to be arriving a little earlier than expected," Dawn said, gazing at her mate.

 

"But we had agreed on noon!" Vernon said, looking up at the clock over the sink. It was currently five minutes after nine.

 

"Puppy, it's Qali. I think we both knew that that was a pipe dream at best," Dawn said with a giggle. Vernon sighed and rolled his eyes, but nodded.

 

"Yeah, I s'pose you're right, Darlin'," he said, cracking a smile. The children had watched while eating, and all shared a look. Noticing the subdued expression on his pups' faces, Vernon frowned a little.

 

"What's the matter, pups?"

 

"Uhm..." Lily started, looking to Alice who smiled reassuringly and nodded.

 

"Uh... i-is a-auntie Qali nice?" Lily said, looking at the two of them with wide, deep blue eyes. Vernon chuckled and reached over to ruffle his youngest pup's headfur.

 

"She's very nice, and she's just gunna love all three of y'all. She just happens to be incredibly hyperactive," Vernon assured them all. Not wanting to make any of the pups feel left out, he then ruffled the headfur of Alice and Trevor, who both protested while giggling. With the knowledge of the energetic arctic vixen's imminent arrival, the new family made quick work of breakfast, before Dawn and Vernon and the kids all scrambled to change out of their pj's and to dress nicely. The little ewe had just finished the final touches of her trademark headpuff when she heard the doorbell ring rapidly.

 

"They're here," Vernon said with a chuckle, looking forward to finally introducing their pups to the first of the rest of their family, wanting to slowly acclimate them. He passed the kids on the stairs, smiling down at Trevor who was wearing the new AMSS shirt that Dawn had bought for him. Lily was wearing her new white sundress, and Alice was in her well-worn jeans and a new blue T-shirt.

 

All three looked excited, as well as a little nervous still, especially Lily, who was hugging her sister's tail for comfort. Dawn trailed after, gently herding and reassuring the children down into the living room. Only when Vernon gripped the doorknob did the ringing cease. He opened the front door and was about to greet his brother and his sister-in-law, when a small white blur darted past him.

 

Vernon turned to see Qali come to a halt just in front of the pups, her tail wagging.

 

"Oh... my... gods... you're all so cute!" Qali squealed just before she tried to pounce, a quick-thinking Dawn intercepting her with a hug.

 

"Hi there, Qali, it's been a while," Dawn said. Vernon greeted his brother, Trenton, and led him inside.

 

"Hiya, Trenny, glad you two could make it," Vernon said.

 

"Heya, Vern," the white wolf said, clapping his brother on the back. Trenton spied Dawn physically holding his mate back from snuggling up their nieces and nephew.

 

"Trent, Qali, we'd like for you to meet our pups," Vernon said, walking over to stand next to them as they all eyed Qali, who was starting to calm down.

 

"Alice, Trevor, Lily, this is your auntie Qali and your uncle Trenton," Vernon said.

 

"Well, hi there, pups," Trenton said. He and Qali received a shy chorus of helloes back, with Lily nervously ducking behind Vernon's leg to peek around. Now a bit more under control, Dawn released her sister-in-law. Qali slowly walked over to the children, still grinning excitedly.

 

"Hello there, sweetie," she said, looking Alice up and down and holding her arms out. "I take it that you're Alice, right?"

 

Alice nodded and hesitated before opening her own arms. Qali quickly, but gently, closed the gap and hugged the little wolf. She repeated the process with Trevor, telling him that she liked his shirt, before finally turning her attention to Lily. Lily was still nervously peeking out from around Vernon's leg.

 

"And you must be my littlest niece, Lily," Qali said, her tail wagging. Lily giggled and nodded, looking a little torn between safely hiding behind the large wolf's leg, and stepping out to hug the arctic vixen. After another moment's hesitation, Lily did just that, giggling as Qali sniffed her niece, committing her scent to memory.

 

"That tickles, auntie Qali!" Lily squealed in laughter.

 

"You have got the cutest little headmane!" Qali said, snuffling through Lily's headfur, making her laugh and fall over.

 

"Alright, Qali," Trent said, catching his mate's attention, "let's not overwhelm them."

 

"But," Qali started, looking a little disappointed, before sighing and stepping back over to his side. After that initial awkwardness, the adults took a seat in the living room while the kids started to play.

 

"So an entire litter of yer own," Trenton said, letting out a low whistle. He looked down and nudged Qali, who was staring at Lily and wagging her big bushy tail.

 

"I wonder if she'll let me play with her headmane?" Qali leaned up to whisper in her mate's ear. Trent rolled his eyes as he draped an arm around her shoulder.

 

"Qali, we talked about this. We gotta go slow, so we don't scare 'em," Trenton said, while Qali let out a huff and started to pout a little. Dawn snickered behind her hooves.

 

"Maybe, if'n you don't just spring it on her out of the blue," Vernon, whispered. Qali opened her muzzle to speak, but closed it when, while Alice was busy trying wrestle with Trevor, Lily walked over, holding a piece of paper behind her back. She stood in front of her aunt and uncle, looking nervous.

 

"Uhm..." Lily started, looking down at her feet.

 

"What is it, princess?" Vernon asked.

 

"I drew a picture for Auntie Qali and Uncle Trenny," Lily said. Qali cooed while Trenton beamed down at his niece.

 

"Well, I'll bet that it's a masterpiece," the law wolf said. Lily smiled and slowly held out the paper, which was from a sheet of coloring paper that Dawn had also thought to get. Qali and Trent both thanked Lily as they took the page, and looked it over. On the page was a drawing, much better and a bit more detailed than what Trent and Qali had been expecting, showing the two of them hugging.

 

"Oh, wow," Qali said, looking at her niece in amazement, "this is wonderful! Thank you, sweetie!" Lily smiled, happy that they had liked her drawing. "Can I please play with your headmane? Pretty please with sugar on top?"

 

Lily was surprised by her hyper aunt's sudden question, but nodded, unsure of what she had in mind. She took a seat right next to the vixen, who immediately set to work braiding her headfur. Lily had never had her hair braided, and so didn't know how she was supposed to feel at that moment. However, in a matter of minutes, Qali announced that she was done, and held up a pocket mirror for Lily to see. Lily smiled as she looked at her braided ponytail.

 

"Thanks, Auntie Qali!" Lily said, turning to hug the vixen. Qali hugged the curious little mammal back. Lily broke off the hug to rush over and show Dawn and Vernon. "Auntie Qali made me look like a princess!" Lily was hopping from one foot to the next in excitement.

 

"She sure did," Dawn said, cooing. Trevor took the first opportunity he got to shake off his sister, and rushed over to the couch, clambering up into Vernon's lap.

 

"Awww, no fair!" Alice said with a huff, before spying Lily, her muzzle splitting into a grin. Lily saw the look on Alice's face and recognized it. She smiled and waited for the wolf pup to pounce, which she promptly did, and immediately started to tickle her. Alice burst out into laughter as she tried to squirm about to try to break free and try another pounce attack on her big little sister.

 

"I take it that someone's done with wrestling for now," Vernon said, ruffling the headfur of the black lamb in his lap. Trevor looked up and let out a sigh.

 

"It's fun for a little while, but Alice never wants to give up until she wins," Trevor half-heartedly complained.

 

"There is a lot to be said for persistence," Trenton offered to his nephew, making everyone laugh.

 

"Now why is it that it's always to Daddy that you three run to, hmm?" Dawn asked in mock-seriousness. Trevor started to look uncomfortable, so Vernon leaned forward to give him a hug.

 

"He's just protectin' his big and little sister," Vernon said, making the lamb look up in confusion. Vernon shot him a quick wink.

 

"Everyone already knows that you go to Mommy only if you want the big guns brought out," Vernon said, reaching over a paw to pat down on Dawn's white head poof, eliciting a giggle from her, from Trevor, from Qali, and both of the girls who had stopped their wrestling when Dawn had asked her question.

 

"Well, that's true," Dawn said.

 

Overall, the visit was a pleasant experience. Qali played around with Lily's braid some more, as well as with Trevor's wool. She had to dodge a pounce from Alice, tickling her niece as 'punishment'. Trenton asked the three some of their likes and dislikes, already some gift ideas in mind. The couple stayed for lunch, and observed Vernon playing with the pups in the backyard. In lieu of wrestling, Alice seemed to very much enjoy kicking the soccer ball around with the large wolf and her siblings, and even Dawn, despite the ewe proving her less-than-stellar athleticism. The visit came to an end, with Qali and Trent hugging each of the pups and Vernon and Dawn before saying their goodbyes, and Qali promising to return with a bunch of presents.

 

Trenton chuckled and smiled at his brother, internally amazed at how naturally he and Dawn had seemed as parents. He sent a text saying as much to their mother, knowing that the she-wolf was hungry for any and all details pertaining to her new role as Grandma. 

 

"They're just so CUTE!" Qali said once they were in the car and driving off.

 

"That they are," Trent said, happy with how the day had gone.

 

"I wonder what Lily is, thought?" Qali mused more to herself than to Trent.

 

"I was wondering the same thing. Something about her seemed oddly familiar," Trenton said aloud.

 

"REALLY?!" Qali, in one fluid motion, unbuckled her seatbelt and leapt onto her mate's muzzle, causing the suddenly panicked white wolf to swerve before pulling over to peel his mate off of his face. 

 

"You've seen her somewhere before?!" Qali asked, completely unaware of the possible accident she could have caused.

 

"No, today's the first time I've ever met her. There's just something about her that seems so familiar to me," Trent explained.

 

"Oh?"

 

"I've got some things to look into, Qali," Trenton said as he pulled back onto the road. He would say no more, despite his energetic mate's persistent questioning.

 

Back at the Hunter household, Dawn was typing on her laptop, checking her emails. The kids were each taking turns on the new gaming system that had been bought, a Shift. Presently it was Trevor vs. Lily in a surprisingly intense game, while Vernon was playing with Alice in the backyard. Dawn smiled, having not expected the unlimited amount of energy in the little wolf pup. Her gaze drifted back to Trevor and Lily, settling on the mystery mammal that was her youngest daughter. While the butterflies still returned at the notion of that thought, Dawn also felt a sense of worry. To have no idea of one's own species, let alone any form of culture for one to draw on, would have to be a very lonely feeling.

 

_And then there's possible medical questions,_ Dawn thought, a quick bubble of worry that came and went in a flash.

 

_She deserves to know something,_ Dawn thought as she clicked on an email from Mayor Snow. _And there has got to be something out there to find._

 

Vernon was presently focused on Alice and keeping up with her. He had noticed how much he had doted on Lily, and was determined to ensure that all of his pups got equal attention, and all knew that they were loved equally.

 

"Gotta be quicker than that, Alice," Vernon said, just barely stopping the ball from whizzing right by him. He kicked it back to his pup, her tail wagging.

 

"Try that!" Alice said, kicking the ball while giving it a little spin. Her trick worked, as the ball swerved just out of Vernon's reach. He had initially considered just letting her win, but he quickly found that he would have to put in quite a bit of effort just to keep up.

 

"So, have you ever played on a soccer team?" Vernon asked, retrieving the ball.

 

"No, but I always wanted to!" Alice said, a note of disappointment in her voice.

 

"Well, we'll just have to fix that," Vernon said, setting the ball down and giving it a kick.

 

"Really?" Alice asked, her excitement making her miss the ball.

 

"You'd better believe it, princess," Vernon said with a grin. Alice ran over to the ball and started kicking it along. She wasn't sure of just what she was supposed to say or do in this moment, so she elected to stick with a happy 'Thank you'.

 

"You're more than welcome, sweetie," Vernon said.


	4. Chapter 4

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> **Hello there readers! Here I have for you today the newest chapter of _Found_! Please feel free to leave a review!**

"Nervous, sweetie?" Dawn asked Lily as she held her daughter's paw, walking towards the school. North Mammalia Elementary, one of the best schools that Dawn and Vernon had looked at within their price range. The end of summer had quickly come, on the heels of Trenton and Qali's visit, with Dawn and Vernon scrambling with the back to school shopping.

 

"A little," the little mammal said. Lily was hugging her new backpack with her free arm. It was bright pink and emblazoned with characters from Lily's favorite show, Our Mini Ostriches. Dawn smiled and pulled Lily into a hug, not caring how odd it looked to some of the parents that the little ewe was hugging a child almost as tall as herself. She ignored them as they led their children into the school. The lawn was perfectly manicured in front, with a walkway leading towards the front entrance. The large glass double-doors were wide open, showing a glimpse of the white interior that matched the color of the bricks of the school's exterior.

 

"That's perfectly natural," Dawn said as she let go and stood back, looking Lily in her deep blue eyes. "But don't you worry. Mommy and Daddy will be here to pick you up after school, and your brother and sister will be here too." Lily smiled at that, hugging Dawn back.

 

"I'm glad that you became my mommy," she said, making Dawn coo. The ewe released her daughter, kissing her on the forehead before taking her by the paw and walking her to her class. Dawn led Lily to the first grade classroom, which had already filled up with several small children, some of whom where clutching at their parents, crying. Dawn waited with Lily as Vernon did with Trevor, just down the hall. 

 

He had offered to escort Alice to her classroom, but the little wolf excitedly said she could find it herself. She had been embarrassed, but happy, when the much larger wolf had given his pup a hug just before she ran off. He held Trevor's hoof as he led the little lamb to his classroom. Trevor was nervous, which was obvious to Vernon from how he kept trying to hide behind his legs.

 

"Hey there, buddy," Vernon said as they made it to the door of the classroom, the chattering of children just beyond it. He knelt down right next to Trevor, and opened his arms into a hug, which the black lamb quickly accepted. 

 

"I know that a new place can be pretty scary," Vernon said as he patted Trevor's back. "But I'll be getting off work early today to pick you and your sisters up, with Mommy, of course."

 

"I know, Daddy," Trevor said, he and Vernon getting a couple weird looks from some of the children entering.

 

"And no matter what, we love you, and you're gunna make us proud." Vernon's tail wagged at the smile on Trevor's muzzle, and he gave him one more hug before letting go and saying his goodbye. Trevor took an empty seat next to a little cheetah girl, and waved once to Vernon who waved back, before leaving.

 

Vernon let out a sigh as he got back into the minivan, with Dawn right behind him. He felt a weight settle at the bottom of his stomach, his ears drooping.

 

"Oh, Puppy Love," Dawn said as she reached over to pull Vernon closer for a hug.

 

"I didn't think that it would feel this... bad, just droppin' 'em off fer school," Vernon said, a whine escaping his throat before he could stop it.

 

"That's because we've spent almost a month bonding with our new pups, and now we have to be without them," Dawn explained, standing up to kiss her mate on the muzzle. "You're just being a good father." That made his tail start to thump against the seat, at least a little.

 

"Maybe... but it still doesn't feel good, Lamb Chop," Vernon said as he started the ignition. Dawn frowned as she buckled her seatbelt.

 

"I know, Puppy," Dawn sighed as she sat back in her seat, knowing exactly how her mate felt. It was a short drive to their house where Vernon dropped her off before heading in to work. Dawn entered the home and made her way over to her laptop. She smiled at the new desktop wallpaper, which was a picture of Vernon and the pups asleep on the couch. Alice was leaning into his side, his large arm draped over the little wolf's shoulder. Trevor was sitting in his lap, eyes closed as he leaned up against Vernon's belly, right next to Lily, who was curled up into a ball, Vernon's other arm draped over her. They had all fallen asleep watching a movie, and Dawn was the first to wake. She took the picture immediately, before waking Vernon so he could help her tuck them into bed.

 

Dawn pulled her head out of the heartwarming memory, and checked her emails. The email she had received from the mayor hadn't led to anything concrete, so Dawn checked to see if a few more possible sources had responded back yet, and so far none of them had. She sighed, and instead opened up the latest chapter of her new book. She had a few new ideas she wanted to implement. But just before she got started, a sudden thought of her mother and Audrey popped into her head.

 

_I feel like I'm forgetting something important..._ Dawn thought to herself, racking her brain over what it was that she had forgotten, before it hit her.

 

_I forgot to send them the pictures of the lambs?!_ Dawn panicked as she checked her sent folder to find that she had indeed completely forgotten to send them the pictures. She scrambled as she made a folder with her favorite pictures taken so far, her hooves clacking on her keyboard as she typed out the apology, and sent a copy to both of the waiting grandmothers.

 

"Oh dear," Dawn said aloud, feeling a wave of guilt wash over her. Audrey and Clover had both called, asking about when they would be getting some pictures. Thinking on it for a second, she then started to send out pictures to the rest of their family and friends.

 

***

 

Vernon pulled in to City Hall, making sure to straighten his tie as he made his way in, heading for the Department of Architecture. Despite the heavy feeling in his stomach, Vernon's tail gave a little wag as he entered the main office, making a beeline for his workspace.

 

_Hopefully a little work can help get my mind off of my pups' first day at their new school,_ Vernon thought to himself just as a cheerful beaver approached his desk, while Vernon opened up his plans for the new library in Sahara Square.

 

"Hiya, Vern," Robert said, chewing on one of his apricot-flavored wooden dowels, "got done dropping your kits off for their first day at their new school, eh?"

 

Vernon's ears drooped back down, his tail attempting to tuck itself between his legs despite the fact that he was seated.

 

"Something wrong?" Robert asked, taking the dowel out as he spoke.

 

"I guess I'm just worried about them," Vernon said with a sigh, looking down at the plans.

 

"Makes sense," Robert said, taking a sip of coffee from his Snarlbucks cup, "there hasn't been a day that you've been here that you haven't gushed about them."

 

"Well, sure I mentioned them once or twice," Vernon said, looking sidelong at the beaver.

 

"Once or twice? Nononono, you spent an entire hour wondering how you were going to encourage Alice's love of soccer without making her feel pressured, while also showing anyone who would stand still pictures."

 

"I was mostly thinkin' out loud," Vernon defended.

 

"And then you were worrying about letting Trevor watch some of the older, more violent episodes of those Samurai Snakes, and what Dawn would have to say on the matter."

 

"Well, they are really violent! Especially fer a seven-year-old!"

 

"And then you went on about how cute you thought Lily following you around was, interspersed with your grumbling after Leona said that she was going to be pretty when she grew up," Robert said, finishing ticking off the different instances on his paw.

 

"What she said was that Lily was gonna to be quite the beauty with all of the boys clamorin' fer her attention," Vernon let out a huff at the thought, which turned into a low growl. Robert chuckled before taking another sip of coffee.

 

"My point being," Robert said with a jovial roll of his eyes, "maybe a little time apart from them will be good for you. Probably for Dawn as well."

 

"Well thanks, Rob," Vernon abruptly said, pointedly turning his attention back to the schematics before him. "But if'n you don't mind, I gotta get back to work on this project."

 

"Right-o," Robert said, pulling out his dowel from his shirt pocket and strolling back the way he came. Vernon delved back into his project, his excitement slowly growing as the building once more took shape in his mind.

 

***

 

Trevor smiled as he scribbled in the answers he knew to be correct on the test before him. Granted his new teacher, Mr. Hornberg, emphasized how this test was nothing to worry about, it was just to show him where everyone was at in their education, and who needed some help in some places. Trevor always got excited whenever he took a test and knew every answer. Making sure to show his work for the math questions, the little lamb finished by signing his name at the top, along with the day's date, and set his mechanical pencil down.

 

"Alright, class," the rhinoceros in the sweater vest and slacks said after a few more minutes of scribbling as the last few stragglers finished up as quickly as they could, "pass your tests up to the front."

 

Trevor did so, catching the eye of a young white tigress. He waved his hoof as she stared back at him. Starting to feel a little self-conscious, Trevor put his hoof down, but still the tigress stared, at least until the teacher cleared his throat. 

 

"Now, class, your first assignment, while I go over your tests, is going to be a writing assignment about how you spent your summer vacation," Mr. Hornberg said, collecting the stacks of papers and carrying them over to his desk. Trevor pulled out his notebook and promptly got started.

 

_This summer, me and my sisters got adopted. Our new mommy and daddy are really nice. Our mommy is a sheep, like me, and our daddy is a wolf, like my big sister Alice._ Trevor's smile returned as he wrote.

 

***

 

"Okay, kids, let's go around the class and introduce ourselves to each other." The giraffe, who had introduced herself as Mrs. Dalis at the start of the class, clapped her hooves together as she beamed at the children who were all seated with their desks in a semi-circle around her. "Let's each say three things about ourselves as we do it. Emma, why don't you start us off?" 

 

A little vixen starting at the right end of the semi-circle smiled, missing a tooth. "Hi, I'm Emma Noctus! I lost a tooth a few days ago, I just turned six, and I have a pet salamander named Dragon!"

 

"Very good, Emma," Mrs. Dalis praised, motioning for the little squirrel boy, sitting in a much smaller desk on a larger desk right next to Emma, going clockwise.

 

"Uh... I-I'm Timmy. I, uh, I like to go camping with my big brother, I have a goldfish and... uh... OH! I can ride a bike without training wheels!" He said the last part very proudly.

 

Now it was Lily's turn. She could feel more than a few eyes glued to her, the little panther boy in the next seat leaning back a bit, sniffing the air around her.

 

"My name's Lily. I like to draw and color, I have a big brother and a big sister, and my favorite color is pink!"

 

"What are you?" the panther boy next to her asked, leaning in close to be able to smell her better.

 

"Andrew, it's not polite to smell others," Mrs. Dalis very lightly admonished.

 

"Sorry," he said, looking sheepish.

 

"That's okay," Lily said, "wanna be friends?"

 

"Okay!" Andrew said, looking just as excited as Lily felt.

 

***

 

"Psst." Alice's ears perked as she looked up from her test to regard the one who had gotten her attention. It was another wolf pup, this one a male with a grey fur coat. "Who was that sheep that came in with you and your dad?" he whispered.

 

Alice frowned. "That's my baby brother," Alice whispered back, the horse teacher writing on the board, unaware of the conversation.

 

"But he's a sheep," the wolf said, looking confused.

 

"So what? You gotta problem with that?" Alice asked, baring her teeth.

 

"N-no," the little wolf boy said, looking nervous.

 

"Good, keep it that way," Alice said, turning back to her test.

 

***

 

The final bell of the day rang, and there was a literal stampede as the suddenly freed students rushed for the exits. Alice hung back, first spotting Trevor and grabbing his hoof in her paw, leading him down the hall. Mrs. Dalis was leading her class out, and Lily was happily talking to Andrew. Alice smiled as she saw her baby sister talking excitedly with the panther boy. Trevor and Alice hovered close to Lily and the group of first-graders as their teacher waited with them out front. The three did not have to wait long. Shortly after they exited, the large frame of Vernon could be seen approaching, his tail a blur behind him. Once he spotted his pups, he dropped to one knee and opened his arms.

 

"DADDY!" Lily yelled with joy as she ran forward, Trevor, having let go of Alice's paw, rushing just behind her. Vernon scooped both up into a big hug, setting them down just as Alice made it to him, seeing Dawn approaching her to hug as well. Alice blushed, grateful that it wasn't visible beneath her black fur, but hugged back, her own tail wagging.

 

"So how was your first day, sweetie?" Dawn asked as she held her hoof out for Alice to take, which she did after a moment's hesitation. 

 

"It was okay," Alice said as they all made their way back to the car, Vernon having perched Trevor and Lily on his shoulders.

 

"Just okay? Not super-duper awesome?" Vernon asked, leaning over as he did so. Alice broke into a smile at his question.

 

"N-No, it was just fine!" Alice insisted.

 

"Really now?" Vernon said, amid a chorus of giggles coming from his shoulders as he held a paw up to his chin, pretending to ponder this. "I gotta say, that there's a mighty suspicious smile for a little pup who only had themselves an 'okay' kind of day."

 

"It's true!" Alice said, her tail wagging.

 

"And that tail of yers is tellin' a different story too," Vernon said, opening the door of the car. He helped Lily and Trevor down into their seats, while Alice, after letting go of Dawn's hoof, clambered in as well. Dawn was holding back her own laughter. She climbed into the passenger seat, the fluttering sensation in her chest returning as she watched Vernon interact with their children.

 

"And what about you two?" Dawn asked as she turned in her seat, Vernon climbing in to the driver's seat. "How was your first day of school?"

 

"Oka--uh, it was fun," Trevor said, looking over at Alice as he said it, who crossed her arms over her chest and tried to pout, but the grin that refused to abandon her muzzle showed her true feelings. "We got to take a test, and I knew all of the answers!"

 

"That's wonderful, Trevor," Dawn praised. "And what about you, Lily?"

 

"It was great, Mommy!" Lily cheered from her seat. "I made a new friend! His name is Andrew, and he's a panther!"

 

"Oh really? I'm so happy for you, Lily!" Dawn said, feeling excitement. "Maybe we could set up a playdate sometime?" Dawn directed the question to Vernon, who perked right upon seeing the delighted expression on Lily's face.

 

"Well, I s'pose," he said, still in that playful voice as he started up the engine. They both took turns talking to the three, asking them about different parts of their day. The trip passed quickly, and soon they were pulling into their driveway. Dawn led them inside, smiling after her lambs as they all scampered up the stairs, peals of laughter wafting back down. She started when Vernon slipped a massive arm around her waist, but slipped an arm around his in return.

 

"Sorry I couldn't be there to help you pick it up, Lamb Chop," Vernon said, softly, so as not to alert the children to their surprise.

 

"That's okay, Puppy, I had it covered," Dawn said, giving Vernon a squeeze, before letting go and rushing off to grab the white boxes from the table in the kitchen. She came back, looking to Vernon with a nod, who wagged his tail, opening his muzzle to call up the stairs, but stopping when their pups all came rushing down, Trevor and Lily pursuing Alice.

 

"Two against one isn't fair!" Alice shrieked as the other two giggled in response. Alice came to a skidding halt at the foot of the stairs upon seeing Vernon standing right there. Trevor, who had been the closest to Alice, accidentally bowled her over, with Lily laughing and hopping on top of the two of them.

 

"Alright, you three," Vernon said, chuckling as he waved an arms at the couch in the living room, "go take a seat. We have a surprise fer y'all."

 

Not wasting a moment, Alice, Trevor, and Lily disentangled themselves and rushed over to the couch, all climbing up in excitement. Dawn walked over carrying three white boxes, each with one of the lambs' names on it, and set them down in front of them on the coffee table. The children all looked from Dawn to the boxes, puzzled.

 

"Your father and I decided that you three deserved a special treat for your first day back to school," Dawn said. That was all the explanation that they needed, as each box was hastily plucked from where it sat and opened. Alice ripped her box open and froze. She looked at what was inside, a white jersey with blue trim, _The Dragons_ emblazoned across the front, and the number 05 on the back. There was a matching pair of shorts, socks, and shin guards.

 

"You got me a soccer uniform?" Alice asked, cocking her head to the side as she looked up to ask.

 

"Well sure we did, can't go joinin' a team without wearin' the uniform," Vernon said, only getting the words out before a small black missile landed a direct hit right in the chest, Alice clinging to him in a tight hug.

 

"Thankyouthankyouthankyouthankyou!" Alice squeaked. Vernon hugged her back, nuzzling the top of the little wolf's head.

 

"You're welcome, Princess, but Mommy's the one who went and signed you up and picked out the uniform," Vernon explained, setting Alice down who immediately hugged the ewe. Dawn, looking a little like she was going to cry, laughed and hugged Alice back.

 

"COOL!" Trevor said, pulling out a player's handbook for a children's version of Beasts and Battlefields. Beneath that were a few more books, as well as a set of dice.

 

"That's my boy," Vernon said. He and Dawn both couldn't wait to help Trevor try out the game. The little lamb set his box aside and hurried down to hug and thank both Vernon and Dawn, Alice having let go of her adopted mother and rushed out of the living room with her box.

 

Lily was entranced by the contents of her own box. Inside were several sheets of canvas, some watercolor paints, brushes, and a smock. She said nothing, and simply smiled and crawled off the couch to join the hug along with Trevor. Alice returned, now wearing her uniform, letting out a sharp yip.

 

"It fits!" she exclaimed.

 

"It suits you, Princess," Vernon said, his phone suddenly buzzing. Vernon unlocked it and saw that he had received a text from his brother Ulric.

 

_Where'd you find a shaved ape?! The interdimensional cephalopods are behind this! it read._ Vernon rolled his eyes and elected to respond to Ulric's text later, wondering what he meant by a shaved ape. His phone buzzed again, surprised to see that it was from his brother Yuri.

 

_What? Were they having a three for one sale? Or didja just get a good sale on that weird-looking one?_ Vernon let out a derisive snort just before his phone buzzed yet again, this time Ada chimed in.

 

_I already gave Yuri an earful about that text. Both of our little nieces and our little nephew are adorable,_ was the hyena's text. Vernon smiled, glad that Yuri's mate was quick to rein him in, as she usually was.

 

***

 

"Dori!" Audrey yelled, her tail wagging in excitement. The older she wolf was looking about each room of the ranch as she called for her mate. "Dori!"

 

"Yes, Auddey?" Dorian rumbled as he entered through the back door, wiping his paws with a towel. He was still wearing his uniform, minus the hat and aviators. The white wolf smiled at his mate, just before he found himself in a near bone-crushing hug.

 

"They sent us some pictures of our new grandpups!" Audrey said, practically bouncing with excitement.

 

"That's great, Auddey," Dorian said as he was released, taking a moment to inhale and ensure that none of his ribs had been broken. "Did they explain why it took 'em so long to get around to sendin' us some pictures?"

 

"I don't know, I can't open the email," Audrey said, thumping Dorian on his shoulder at his rolling eyes. "Don't you start, mister," Audrey said with a sharp look.

 

Dorian chuckled, rubbing the spot on his shoulder as he strode past his mate, heading towards the living room. He walked over to the couch and took a seat before the opened laptop that Ulric had purchased for her one Mother's Day. His reasoning had been, as he had explained in the card, that the planets were dangerously close to coming misaligned. How that factored in to it, none of them knew. He looked at the email notification and within seconds, had the message opened. A few more clicks, and Dorian had all of the pictures available with a click. Audrey let out a huff as she sat down next to him, Dorian wisely keeping his muzzle shut about his mate's long-standing incompatibility with technology. 

 

Audrey's excitement quickly relit, and she hastily clicked on a picture. They both took in the sight of Dawn and Vernon standing side by side in their living room. Dawn was hugging a little black wolf pup close, both with wide smiles, and Dawn with askew glasses as she rested her chin on Alice's head.

 

"OOooh! There's Alice!" Audrey exclaimed in excitement. Dorian nodded and chuckled, again, as he took in Vernon. Lily was riding on his shoulders while Trevor was in his arms, being hugged close.

 

"And there's Trevor, oh he's just gunna grow up to be so handsome!" Audrey said, her tail rhythmically thumping on the cushions of the couch. Dorian's tail also thumped a bit, feeling excitement at finally getting to see his grandpups. His gaze traveled up to the small little mammal riding on Vernon's shoulders, hugging the back of his head tight as she smiled at the camera. Dorian frowned.

 

"And that's little Lily," Audrey said, taking a moment to get a good look at the little mystery mammal.

 

"She's certainly... different-looking... but she's just so cute!" Audrey said after a minute of trying to figure out what species she was and giving up. "And from what I've heard so far, she's already a Daddy's Girl!"

 

"Yeah, they're all mighty cute," Dorian agreed, still staring at Lily's picture. He reached down and clicked on one of the pictures of the individual pups, pulling up a larger picture of Lily, standing outside, wearing a bright pink T-shirt and white shorts, smiling wide for the camera. "What d'you reckon she is, Auddey?"

 

"Well, I'm not really sure, and Dawn did say that she's registered as an unknown species," Audrey said, already thinking of some fun planned activities to do with her grandpups when they finally came up for a visit.

 

"Huh," Dorian said, a slight frown to his muzzle. With the image of Lily committed to memory, he pulled up another group picture. This one was of them in the park with Alice kicking a soccer ball to Trevor and Lily. Vernon and Dawn were on a picnic blanket, Vernon laying on his side and holding his phone up selfie-style, with the children playing visible over his shoulder, and Dawn standing up to hug Vernon by the neck.

 

"Awwww!" Audrey said, unable to resist any longer. She let out a howl of pure joy, and pulled Dorian into another hug. He smiled, despite the troubled feeling he was getting from the little hairless mammal he was looking at. Something at the back of his mind was just nagging him.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> **And there you have it, folks! I hope that you enjoyed the new chapter!**


	5. Chapter 5

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> **Hello there, dear readers, I'm so happy to bring to you the newest chapter of _Found_! This chapter was proofread by _Trismegistus Shandy_! Please feel free to leave a review!**

"MOMMY!" Dawn heard Lily's cry for help, but she couldn't find her. She had been standing right next to her, holding her hoof. Dawn had looked away for just a second... and then she was gone. Panicking, she started to look around for Lily. They were at the park, which was empty. The sky, in which a few clouds were lazily drifting by, was growing darker.

 

"LILY!" Dawn called out, becoming frantic with worry as she dashed all around, looking for any sign of her daughter. And then she spotted her. The little mostly furless mammal that had become her littlest girl, her baby, was near the parking lot, being dragged away by a pair of rams. She was struggling and crying. She looked back and saw Dawn, her big blue eyes filled with tears and terror.

 

"MOMMY!" she cried as they dragged her towards an idling white van. Dawn ran as fast as her legs would allow, racing towards the van. Tears were streaming down her face as Lily was forced into the van, the door shutting behind her. As she got closer, she recognized one of the rams as Doug Ramses, who just winked at her. She came to a halt as recognition dawned in her mind as to who the second ram was. Her father... the late Aster Bellwether. He looked back at the ewe with contempt. 

 

Dawn was broken out of her stupor by the clap of thunder and, tossing aside the horror of seeing her dead abusive father, she started sprinting to close the gap on the van. Doug and Aster had climbed inside and shut the doors behind them. Dawn got up to the side of the van, and saw Lily crying and beating on the glass. Dawn gripped the handle and tried to open it, jerking and jerking, but the door stayed firmly shut. The van then drove off, knocking Dawn down. She reached out towards the van, sobbing.

 

"NOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!!!!!!!!" she cried out as the rain fell. And then she started awake. Dawn sat up in bed, feeling Vernon holding her close in his arms. She reached out to the nightstand and grabbed her glasses to put on before she looked up at her mate.

 

"Bad dream, darlin'?" Vernon asked. Dawn lifted her glasses to wipe away some tears as she nodded.

 

"Oh gods, Puppy," she let out a shuddering breath before hugging her wolf, "it was horrible! Me and Lily were at the park and Doug and my father were there and they kidnapped her! They just took her! I t-tried to get her back, but I failed and... and..." Dawn let out a sob and clutched Vernon tightly.

 

"It's okay, Lamb Chop, Lily's safe and sound in her bed, and our other pups are safe and asleep as well," Vernon said in a soft and reassuring voice. He gave his ewe an affectionate nuzzle, smiling as her trembling tapered off. Dawn kissed him on his nose, prompting a tail wag. They ended the embrace, and Dawn quickly scrambled out of their circular bed.

 

"Honey Lamb?" Vernon asked, his ears perked in confusion while Dawn took a moment to adjust her pajamas.

 

"I just wanna check on our lambs," Dawn said, giving Vernon a smile that he was quick to return. He slipped out from under the covers and followed her out into the hall, padding softly. They navigated through the twilight of the darkened hall towards Lily's door. Dawn quietly opened it and looked inside. There was a soft glow from the Prism Bolt nightlight near the bed, Dawn having selected that particular one for Lily since that was her favorite Our Mini Ostrich character. The nightlight illuminated the bed where Lily lay curled up with Alice, the wolf pup having apparently also had a bad dream earlier in the night to come and sleep in her sister's bed. 

 

Unable to help herself, Dawn crept quietly into the room and up to the bed. She reached out a hoof to gently stroke Lily and Alice's headfur, and then lightly kissed their foreheads. Alice made a murring sound in her sleep, and smiled. Vernon watched as Dawn padded back out, smiling down at her. They then moved down to Trevor's room, where they found him sleeping peacefully. His blanket was strewn a little, and Dawn padded over to his bed to pull it back up and to also give the little black lamb a kiss on the forehead as well. Vernon quietly shut the door behind the ewe, and the two headed back to their room. They both climbed back into bed, and snuggled together. Dawn placed her glasses back on the nightstand, and buried her face in Vernon's neck ruff, falling asleep surrounded by his scent, taking comfort as she drifted off.

 

 

***

 

 

"Nick's really starting to warm up to the idea of us having kits," Judy said as she and Dawn casually strolled through Savanah Central. They were on their way to a new cafe that Judy had heard about from Fru Fru. Today was Judy's day off, and on a whim she had called up Dawn to invite her to lunch. With the kids at school and Vernon at work, and the nightmare from the previous night making focusing on writing her newest novel an impossibility, Dawn had jumped at the chance. It was a bright and sunny day out, with crystal clear blue skies, as they started to pass a park.

 

"Oh, really?" Dawn said with a grin, knowing how the red fox had been dragging his feet over the subject.

 

"Yup! I mean, he still has his reservations, but he's actually willing to talk about it!" Judy practically jumped for joy, the rabbit officer's enthusiasm and energy always making her company a delight to the ewe. Judy continued talking about them possibly adopting two kits, a rabbit and a fox, when Dawn was distracted by the sight of a nearby playground. Since it was a school day, it was mostly deserted, but what drew Dawn's attention was how similar it seemed to the playground in her dream. Dawn's heart quickly raced and she took in a sharp breath as the thought of Lily being abducted flashed into her mind. Judy took notice of her friend's distress, her ears drooping.

 

"Dawn? What's wrong?" she asked worriedly. Dawn looked back up at Judy and flashed her a nervous grin.

 

"O-oh, it's nothing, Judy," Dawn said, "I just had a bad dream last night that I suddenly thought of."

 

"Oh?" Judy asked, now curious. They continued on their way just as Dawn started to continue.

 

"Yeah, I dreamt that I took Lily to the park, and that Doug Ramses and my f-father kidnapped her, and took her away before I could rescue her." Dawn hugged herself a little. "I know that it's silly though. Especially since my f-father... w-well, you were there..."

 

Judy nodded and reached out to rest a paw on Dawn's shoulder.

 

"It's not silly, Dawn. Having a child abducted is one of the worst nightmares for a parent," Judy explained as they came to a crosswalk, waiting to cross.

 

"True... I g-guess that I'm especially worried about Lily, though; we still haven't been able to find anything about her species. I think that part of me is thinking that someone might try to take her to study in a lab... or worse..."

 

"You haven't been able to find anything?" Judy asked, curious. She and Nick had gotten the file of the pictures taken after Dawn had sent them, squealing in pure joy at the adorable pictures, as well as taking an interest in Lily.

 

"Nothing, I haven't been able to find any record anywhere of a species like her..." Dawn said. They started to cross when the signal changed. Dawn waited until they reached the other side to bring up another worry she had been having. "I can't help but feel that it must be pretty lonely for her."

 

Judy nodded as she considered this. "That does sound like it could feel pretty lonely, especially for a little kit."

 

"A-at first," Dawn gulped and looked at her hooves guiltily, "Vernon and I were worried about how we would relate to her. I mean, th-that's why we were primarily looking to adopt a lamb and a wolf in the first p-place."

 

Judy nodded. "But she's your baby now," Judy said, resting a paw on Dawn's shoulder.

 

"They all are," Dawn said, "but it's just a little frustrating. Part of me feels like there should be something out there, some kernel of information, anything!"

 

"Dawn, I'm positive that you'll find it. Even if she's a member of a newly discovered species that's been in hiding in some remote location in the world, there's going to be something to dig up. She had to come from somewhere, after all."

 

Dawn looked up at her rabbit friend and gave her a sudden hug.

 

"Thank you, Judy," Dawn said as she let go.

 

"Anytime, Dawn. So, what about your other kits? They start giving you two heart attacks yet?"

 

"Don't get me started," Dawn said with a roll of her eye. "So it turns out that Trevor, for all his skittishness, likes to go rooting around with glass jars to collect bugs in, poking holes in the top. And Alice likes to climb things."

 

"I take it that those two traits came as a bit of a surprise then?" Judy asked with a giggle, glad to see Dawn perking up.

 

"Oh yeah, which we found out about both of them on the same day. That's also when we found out that Lily has a bad habit of wandering off when you take your eyes off of her. I had just realized how high up Alice had climbed the tree in our back yard and just before I started to think about getting a ladder, Trevor pops up from a hedge he had been in, covered head to hoof in mud, holding up three jars of creepy crawlies, one of which had the largest tarantula in it I've ever seen."

 

The two started laughing, only stopping just as they came upon the cafe that had been their destination. After they were seated and waiting to order, Dawn described how Vernon had been relaxed and trying to keep a cool head, until he had seen his oldest pup up in the tree. He had immediately scrambled to find a ladder and quickly scaled it to carry Alice down. While not afraid, Alice had looked guilty, like she had been preparing herself for a scolding.

 

"She actually looked almost shocked when we both hugged her to us," Dawn said, setting down her menu. "I think that she was expecting to be punished."

 

"Poor kit," Judy responded.

 

"And then, after we explained how we were not mad, just scared of how she could have hurt herself, she looked so guilty." Dawn stopped long enough to place an order for the clover tea, her appetite having dwindled a bit from the recollection of her nightmare. Judy placed an order for a fruit salad and some carrot tea.

 

"She puts on a brave face," Dawn continued once the weasel waiter had scurried off, "and so we're encouraging her, gently of course, to open up. I think that she's spent so long being the rock for Trevor and Lily that she's built up a wall."

 

"That sounds like my little brother, Julian," Judy said, giving Dawn a sympathetic smile. "My mom and dad adopted him and the rest of his litter when they were just little kits. He had been their protector, and he kinda stayed that way even after they became a part of our family."

 

"I had no idea that your parents adopted a litter of kits," Dawn said, surprised. Judy nodded solemnly.

 

"Their parents and mine had been friends for a while, the Leapingtons. Unfortunately, their mother passed away during birth, and their father just couldn't handle it. He tried to raise them, but he started drinking just to cope. When they were five, he got so out of control that the Sheriff had to come down and arrest him. He ended up going away for assaulting an officer."

 

"That's terrible!" Dawn said, shocked.

 

"It was. Anyway, we made them a part of our family. They all integrated pretty well, after a little time had passed. But Julian, he had always seemed so... vigilant, when it came to his brothers and sisters. Like he was just waiting for the other hammer to drop."

 

"D-did he ever come out of his shell?" Dawn asked, leaning forward. Judy smiled brightly and nodded.

 

"He sure did. It took a while, but he slowly started to relax, and learn to enjoy himself more. Mom and Dad made sure to take the time to really encourage anything he started to show an interest in, which it turns out was chess. It really seemed to help."

 

"Patience, showing an interest in their interests; and of course, a safe and loving home; all sound as though they helped to do the trick." Dawn smiled down at the cup of tea placed before her.

 

"Which I'm sure Alice is already starting to receive a lot of with you and Vernon. Plus, coming from a family of law wolves probably adds some additional sense of security. Well, that and having the largest wolf ever for a dad." Judy took a few bites from her fruit salad, the blueberries making her think of her mate.

 

"I'm sure you and Nick could probably make some little ones feel safe and loved too," Dawn said, earning a giggle from Judy.

 

"I'm almost positive that when we do get some kits of our own, Nick is immediately going to teach them how to pull off his 'Pawpsicle' scheme." That made Dawn laugh.

 

"What about Trevor?" Judy asked as a sudden thought popped into her mind.

 

"Trevor? Well, he's a little sweetheart."

 

"I'm sure. But he's also the middle child," Judy said. Dawn nodded in agreement.

 

"Vernon and I discuss ways we can include all of our lambs, as well as make sure to praise them all equally. Vernon especially. He wants to make sure that they all know that they're loved equally, and tries to find ways for us to show all three of them how special they are to us."

 

Judy cooed at the sudden mental image of the pictures Dawn had sent. There wasn't one where Dawn and Vernon weren't both hugging the kids, everyone looking happy in the pictures.

 

 

***

 

 

"Tag! You're it!" Lily squealed in excitement as the little panther boy touched his paw to her back. Giggling, she turned and spotted Emma, the little fox kit laughing as she turned to run. Lily gave chase, spotting Alice out on the playground. She waved to her big sister as she passed by, Alice's tail wagged a little, before she saw another wolf pup approaching her. He was the one seated next to her in class, and every day he had been bugging Alice with questions. She had recently learned that his name was Mike.

 

"So that's your little sister?" he asked, staring after Lily as she finally managed to tag Emma, who in turn started to chase after a little squirrel boy.

 

"Yeah, that's my baby sister Lily."

 

"So... is she adopted like you and your brother?" Mike asked, his ears perked and his head cocked to the side.

 

"Yes, Mike," Alice said, looking for Trevor and spotting him reading one of the books that he had gotten as a gift under a tree.

 

"S-so... what is she?" Mike asked, shrinking a little under the serious look he received.

 

"My little sister," Alice said, a little tersely. She saw how nervous Mike seemed, and part of her felt a little bad. She wondered if maybe he was having difficulty making friends. But her more protective side was ever vigilant and protective of her brother and sister, the memories of them having both been mercilessly teased back at their old school still fresh in her mind. Lily had gotten it the worst.

 

"'Kay... w-wanna go... uhm... p-play tetherball?" Mike asked. Alice looked him over and thought about it for a second.

 

"...Okay..." Alice noticed how the other pup's tail started to wag. "But if I see anyone messing with my brother or sister, I will have to cut our game short to go deal with them. Got it?" Mike's tail continued to wag as he nodded and then raced off to an unoccupied tetherball pole. Alice followed after him, looking over her shoulder to check on Lily and Trevor.

 

Lily was running along, trying to avoid being tagged by a raccoon girl in her class. She was laughing and looking over her shoulder, not watching where she was going. Suddenly she found herself crashing into someone. She let out a squeal as she and the black figure tumbled over. Lily immediately extricated herself from what she recognized as her brother.

 

"Oops! Sorry, Trevie!" Lily said, reaching down to help him up. The lamb smiled up at his sister and took her hand.

 

"That's okay, Lils," he said, earning a giggle. She spotted Trevor's book and handed it to him, making sure to wipe off the dirt that gotten on the cover. She looked at the title and started to sound it out.

 

"Bee-asts annnd bat-tal-lyons," Lily sounded it out. Trevor gave her a hug.

 

"Good job, Lils," he said. Despite their height difference, with the little black lamb being a head shorter than his little sister, Trevor never had any difficulty viewing her as his little sister.

 

"Beasts and Battalions," Trevor said, accepting the proffered book.

 

"What's it about?" Lily asked, the game continuing in the background.

 

"It's a game!" Trevor's voice started to fill with excitement. "Daddy said he and Mommy would play it with us, if we wanted."

 

"Oh!" Lily said, starting to share Trevor's enthusiasm. "What kind of game? Do we play it on the Shift?"

 

Trevor giggled and shook his head. "No, Lily, this is a game played on paper, imagining a world to explore and go on adventures in!"

 

Lily cocked her head to the side as she looked on in confusion, a habit she had picked up from Alice over the years. Trevor smiled up at his little sister.

 

"Don't worry, Lils, when we get to play with Mommy and Daddy, they can probably help explain it better."

 

"Okay!" She saw Andrew out of the corner of her eye. The little panther boy was trying to creep up on her, looking ready to pounce. Lily squealed and turned to run, just as Andrew pounced. He missed her, but only just barely, and gave chase, the two giggling. Trevor watched, feeling a little worried at first, but relaxing after the panther tagged her and turned to run, only for Lily to pounce on him. Trevor then noticed the little tiger girl from his class sitting on a swing. She was staring at him again, and Trevor started to feel a pit of nervousness form in his stomach. He smiled nervously and gave a wave, but she in turn gave an audible huff, and turned away.

 

 

***

 

 

Vernon was seated at his desk at work. He was hunched over his plans for the library that he was presently working on. The big pitch was coming up in a few days, and the large wolf felt simultaneously nervous and excited. He knew that the building was going to have to match the general theme of the rest of the structures in Sahara Square, but he was also working out how he was going to go about making it his own. Vernon was humming a little as he went over his current design, and decided to make some adjustments, when his phone started to buzz. Vernon let out a sigh as he fished it out and held up the vibrating phone, an eyebrow quirking at the picture of his father that came up.

 

"Hey, Pa, how're things?" Vernon asked the older law wolf, a little confused.

 

"Heya, Vern," Dorian's voice rumbled on the other end. "Just callin' ta check in on you and Dawn and the pups."

 

"Oh, well, we're all fine. The kids are all at school, and Dawn sent me a text earlier sayin' that she and her friend Judy were going out to a cafe. I'm actually at work right now," Vernon trailed off as a sudden thought came to him and, his tail starting to wag, he resumed sketching on the paper before him.

 

"Oh, right, well, I'll try to keep this short. I was just curious about whether or not y'all have been able to dig up any information about the youngest pup."

 

Vernon continued to sketch on the plans as he spoke. "Well, no. I mean, we know that she was picked up when she was four or so, all alone on the streets, but that's about it."

 

"So her species is a bit of a mystery then?" Dorian asked. Vernon paused, and his tail slowly tapered off the wagging.

 

"So far," Vernon said, slowly, "why?"

 

"Oh, well, it's the strangest thing, Vern," Dorian said, sounding uncomfortable.

 

"What is, Pa?"

 

"I just have the strangest sense of deja vu is all. I mean, when I first saw her in the pictures you sent over, finally, I just got this odd feelin' of familiarity."

 

"Like you've seen Lily before?" Vernon asked, leaning back in his chair.

 

"Oh, no. Not, eh, Lily. I just got this feelin' in the back of my mind is all. And that just made me curious. I'm sure that it'll come back to me sooner or later."

 

"Okay," Vernon said, holding up a paw to forestall Robert who had been approaching him, opening his mouth to speak. The beaver looked initially confused but nodded and decided to wait. "If it does come to ya, you'll let us know, right?"

 

"Of course, Son." Dorian let out a rumbling chuckle.

 

"Thanks Pa... she's actually a pretty happy little pup, but we both get a little worried for her."

 

"Welcome to parentin', Son." Dorian let out another chuckle, and Vernon was certain that his father could tell that he was rolling his eyes. "Granted, this here's a bit of an... unusual case, but regardless, a large part of parentin' is worryin'. I can't even begin to tell you how much you boys scared the ever livin' daylights outta me and yer ma, and that was before y'all could even walk! And don't even get me started about how much worse it got when the last of ya was toddlin' around. I swear, it was like y'all were just tryin' to go and get lost in the corn fields."

 

"O-okay, Pa," Vernon said, noticing Robert who was pointing to his watch and circling it with his finger, repeatedly, "I gotta go."

 

"Oh, wait Son, yer ma wanted me to ask when you and Dawn were gunna bring our grandpups up here fer a visit? We know y'all wanted to acclimate 'em slowly and everything, but we, yer mother especially, are just itchin' to meet 'em."

 

"O-oh, uh, me and Dawn were thinkin' maybe in about two weeks. Would that be a good time to come in for a visit?" Vernon offered.

 

"That's perfect. I'll go tell yer ma and let you get back to yer architectin'," Dorian joked, making Vernon once more roll his eyes before they said their goodbyes. After Vernon had hung up, he looked down at Robert.

 

"Yes?" he asked the beaver.

 

"Well hello to you too, Vernon," Robert said with a smirk. "I just wanted to let you know that today is Tony's birthday, and that they're serving cake in the break room."

 

The wolf let out a sigh and rolled his eyes. "I really gotta get this design done, Robert."

 

"Alright, alright." The beaver smiled as he held up his paws in defense. He turned to go, while Vernon started to mutter to himself, picking up where he left off, his tail soon slowly resuming its earlier wagging.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> **I hope that you enjoyed the new chapter!**


	6. Chapter 6

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> **Hello there, readers! I'm excited to bring to you chapter six of _Found_! Once more, this chapter was proofread by my wonderful friend, _Trismegistus Shandy_.**

Dawn's hooves clacked as she typed away on her laptop. She would periodically look up from her current novel to check on her lambs, smiling as she watched Trevor poring over his new B&B books, writing down notes in a little notebook on the side while laying on his belly on the carpet in front of the couch. Lily was sitting to Dawn's left on the couch, focused on her sketchpad, working on her drawing. The ewe felt her heart swell as she looked on, watching her children with pure joy. Presently, Vernon was with Alice at her team's practice. They were all looking forward to Alice's team's first game, the young pup easily the most excited.

 

After finishing off a final paragraph for the chapter. Dawn saved before moving the laptop off her lap and stretching a little. She leaned over and saw that Lily was sketching a picture of her, sitting on the couch, typing on her laptop. Dawn smiled, quickly scooting over to giver her youngest a hug. "Well aren't you just the little artist," Dawn said as Lily let out a giggle.

 

"It's you, Mommy!" Lily elatedly said, proudly showing Dawn the picture.

 

"It sure is," was Dawn's reply, which was followed up with a kiss to the top of Lily's headmane, which was currently braided again into a ponytail. After finding out how much Lily had enjoyed it when Qali first braided her long patch of headfur, Dawn had made sure to muzzletime with the arctic vixen in order to learn how to properly do it, in the process learning that Qali had first learned how to do it with a horse friend of hers she would have sleepovers with when they were children. Lily had been delighted when Dawn had first surprised her, after Dawn had managed to successfully do it with her hooves.

 

"It's a lovely picture, sweetie," Dawn said, giving her one more squeeze. She hopped off the couch and walked over to Trevor, the little black lamb looking up at her and letting out an involuntary happy bleat.

 

"So I take it that you're excited to play Beasts and Battalions with Mommy and Daddy tonight?" Dawn playfully asked.

 

"Uh-huh! I'm almost done making my character!" Trevor said, holding up the notebook he had been taking notes in, flipping back a few pages to his character. In the bottom left corner was a crayon-colored drawing of a black ram wizard, holding a fireball in his left hoof. While not as detailed as his little sister's drawings, Dawn praised him for his artistic attempts as well, giving his black head poof a pat, before looking over his hoof-made character sheet for _Arzoth the Firesome_.

 

"Oooh, you went with a Sorcerer; good choice, sweetie," Dawn said, looking at the spell list and the stats.

 

"Yeah, he likes to throw fireballs and fight zombies!" Trevor said excitedly.

 

"Oh? Well, we may just have to make sure that he has some zombies to fight tonight, then," Dawn said with a wink. "Now, how about a snack, hmm?"

 

"Can we have ice cream?" Lily asked, perking up and cocking her head to the side, similar to how her big sister cocked her head.

 

"I was thinking something a little more healthy, but maybe tonight after dinner."

 

"'Kay," Lily said energetically.

 

"Nice try, Lily," Trevor said with a smile. Just as Dawn was heading to the kitchen, she heard the front door open. Turning, she saw her mate enter, the large wolf with a much smaller wolf in her blue soccer jersey perched on his shoulder, both looking elated, two tails wagging.

 

"We're home!" Vernon called out, only to suddenly find Lily and Trevor latched onto his legs, Lily hugging the left while Trevor hugged the right. Vernon chuckled as he bent down to hug them back, before picking Alice up off his shoulder and setting her down next to them.

 

"How was practice?" Dawn asked, starting to feel their combined enthusiasm.

 

"She's a natural, Lamb Chop," Vernon stated with obvious pride, making the little black wolf pup blush and look embarrassed.

 

"I'm okay," Alice said.

 

"That you are, Allie," Vernon said, reaching down once again, this time to ruffle Alice's headfur. "And we can't wait to cheer you on at your first game." Trevor and Lily both audibly agreed.

 

"...Thank you..." Alice said in a small voice before dashing upstairs to change out of her uniform, Dawn spying the corners of her muzzle turned up in a smile as her oldest daughter jogged by. Dawn turned and beamed at her mate, who was currently swarmed with Trevor and Lily, both attempting to climb him to show off their projects. Dawn slipped away to make a large plate of snacks, returning shortly after to find Alice already back in the living room, now dressed in some jeans and a shirt, wrestling Lily, who giggled. Vernon was sitting on the couch, Trevor in his lap, with his notebook and B&B books open, the two discussing his character.

 

Dawn set the platter of various fruit slices on the coffee table, happy to see Alice scramble over at the sight of the apple slices, Dawn having learned early on that Alice loved apples, especially the sour green ones. She also included grapes and clover crackers, for Lily and Trevor respectively. She blushed when her lambs all thanked her, before each taking some of the provided snacks. As Vernon and Trevor resumed their discussion, and Dawn asked Alice about her practice, and listened to her story. Both she and Vernon would look over at Lily, who busied herself with her drawing again, making sure to ask their little mystery mammal questions and otherwise ensure that she felt included. It was just as Vernon was about to get up and offer to start dinner, that Dawn felt her phone buzz. Taking a second to unlock it, she saw that it was her mother calling, and she immediately answered.

 

"Hi, Mom," Dawn said.

 

"Hello, Dawnie, sweetie!" Clover responded, sounding excited. "Me and Cammy were talking and we were wondering if now would be a good day to come by and meet the grandchildren."

 

Dawn paused for a moment, "O-oh! Well... I suppose that it would be alright."

 

"Oh, wonderful! See you all in a little bit, Dawnie!" the older ewe said before hanging up.

 

"So they're coming over, Darlin'?" Vernon asked.

 

"It looks like, Puppy Love," Dawn said, before turning her attention to her lambs, all three of whom were looking at her for an explanation.

 

"Well, kids, your grandma and grandpa are going to be coming over in a little bit for a visit," she said.

 

"From the ranch daddy was talking about?" Lily asked, having set down her sketching pad.

 

"No, sweetheart," Vernon said, "that's my ma and pa. This is your Granma Clover and Grampa Cameron; they live in the city."

 

"Are they nice?" Lily asked, starting to look nervous. Dawn slipped down from the couch and walked over to her daughter, giving her a hug.

 

"They sure are," she said, "and they're both just going to love all three of you." Dawn and Vernon briefly shared a look. Whenever the subject of their extended family would come up, all three children would seem more nervous than excited, especially Lily, who so far was the most prone to asking if they were nice.

 

Satisfied with the grin on Lily's face, Dawn and Vernon then set about checking to see what needed straightening up before the arrival. In less than an hour, the doorbell signified the arrival of the grandparents, and Dawn, starting to feel eager, made her way to the door. She looked back to see Vernon, now with Lily and Trevor in his lap on the couch, Alice sitting next to them, looking vigilant as per her default setting. That brought a slight pang to Dawn's heart, but she quickly brushed it away, throwing open the door to the sight of her mother, an older ewe, and her stepfather, Cameron, the older russet fox holding a stack of boxes.

 

"Hi, mom! Hello, Cameron!" Dawn said, her mother suddenly pulling her into a hug.

 

"Oh, Dawnie," Clover said, nuzzling her daughter's head poof before letting go, "I can't even begin to tell you how happy I am that I'm finally going to get to meet my grandlambs!"

 

"We're both very excited, Dawn," Cameron said, his muzzle peeking around the boxes, his glasses slightly askew, "and we decided to bring some gifts for the kits."

 

"Oh, that's so sweet! But you didn't have to go and do that," Dawn said before offering to take some of the boxes.

 

"We wanted to," Cameron replied, "and it's quite alright, I've got them."

 

Dawn stepped aside and ushered her mother and stepfather in. They made their way to the living room. There was a brief moment of silence as Alice eyed the newcomers, having scooted closer to her brother and sister, the latter of whom was hugging the former close to herself, almost involuntarily.

 

"Well hi there, Clover," Vernon said to his mother-in-law, his tail already thumping, which Dawn noticed helped to make Lily visibly calm, "and howdy, Cameron."

 

"Hello, Vernon," Clover said, smiling brightly at the sight of her grandlambs as Cameron made his way to the coffee table, setting the boxes down on top, spreading all three out next to one another. 

 

"It's nice to see you again, Vernon," he said, stepping back and smiling at the children.

 

"Kids," Dawn said, walking over to stand next to where they were sitting on the couch, "this is your grandma and grandpa. Mom, Cameron, this is Alice, Lily, and Trevor."

 

"Hello there," Clover said, waving a hoof. She blushed a little when she felt Cameron rest an arm around her waist, and felt his big bushy tail flick itself over her legs. Both the older ewe and fox looked to the three children, both pausing briefly when they looked upon the partially hidden Lily, but said nothing.

 

"Hi... uhm... Gramma and Grampa!" Lily said, surprising Dawn, Vern, and even Alice and Trevor. The little mystery mammal still looked a bit shy, but was clearly making an effort to be brave and show her enthusiasm. The sight of the brightly colored pink and blue boxes on the coffee table also piquing her curiosity. Clover cooed while Cameron gave her a squeeze. The tension broken, the children began to relax, much to Clover's joy. She wasted no time in offering hugs and cuddles to her grandlambs, keeping in mind what Dawn had said before about possibly overwhelming them. Cameron, despite his usual formal mannerisms, was also quick to show affection to his new grandkits. 

 

"Oh, it is just so nice to finally be able to meet you three," Clover warmly said.

 

"We've both heard so much about you," Cameron added, motioning to the boxes, "so we both brought you all a gift that we hope you like."

 

Alice, Trevor, and Lily all looked to Clover and said thank you before looking to Dawn, silently asking permission to open their gifts. Dawn gave a nod, knowing her mother and having an pretty good idea as to what she had gotten her children. With only a slight hesitation from Alice, all three grabbed the boxes with their names on them and started tearing them open. Trevor was the first to have his opened, and held up a sweater with his name on it. It was bright green and had intricate patterns on the sleeves in light blues and yellows. Alice held up a purple one with her name on it, and Lily held up an orange one, with reds making up the patterns. The children all looked quizzically at the sweaters, before Trevor recognized what they were made from.

 

"A-Are these wool... uhm... G-Grandma?" he asked. Clover nodded, looking a little anxious, which Cameron noticed and was quick to give a slight reassuring squeeze to his mate.

 

"Yes... I made them, with Cameron's help of course, from my own wool," Clover said, starting to wonder if perhaps the gift wasn't something the children would like after all, before Lily surprised them again by quickly pulling hers on.

 

"Thank you, Grandma, it's so pretty!" she said. Trevor, now grinning, pulled his own on. Alice looked on, a little unsure of how to feel, but having picked up that this was intended to be a nice gesture, so she, much like her brother and sister, started to put hers on. As she did, she found that it was a perfect fit and felt very soft and warm. This led to the pup's tail beginning to thump, matching Vernon's, which of course made Lily start to giggle. All of which helped to further put Alice, the protector, at ease.

 

"I'm so glad that you enjoy it, sweetie!" Clover said, unable to stop herself from hopping down from the loveseat where she and Cameron had been sitting, and walking over to the three to give each a hug. Once again, Alice hesitated, but it was only very slight, and she immediately returned the hug, not fully sure of just how she felt, but trying to hide that. Vernon leaned over to ruffle her head fur, which helped to bring out her own giggle, and soon everyone was enjoying the visit.

 

Clover and Cameron asked the children all sorts of questions about what they enjoyed, how they were liking their new school, and other such subjects. The initial awkwardness having given way to a more comfortable rapport, the visit was positive, and involved quite a bit of Clover cuddling her grandlambs, multiple times. So much so that when it came time for Clover and Cameron to leave, Lily and Trevor voiced their objections.

 

"We're sorry, children," Clover said sincerely, already wanting to spend more time with her grandlambs, "but Cameron and I live so far away, making it a very long drive. We'd love to stay longer, but we have to leave soon."

 

"Although we do promise to come back plenty of times," Cameron added, taking one of Clover's hooves in his paw. This offered very little in the was of consolation to the children, but they accepted. There was another round of hugs and cuddles from Clover, and even some tentative hugs from Cameron, and further promises of returning very soon, as well as an added guarantee to be at Alice's first soccer match, something that the little wolf found herself looking forward to, before finally they had to leave. Soon, Vernon was in the kitchen, starting dinner.

 

"So," Dawn started, looking to each of her lambs, "what did you think of grandma and grandpa?"

 

"They were really... nice," Alice said, Dawn taking that as the pup's endorsement for grandparent set number one.

 

"Just like you said, Mommy!" Trevor exclaimed. Dawn and Vernon had noticed that when excited or lost in happy thoughts, Trevor's stutter seemed to disappear.

 

"I'm so happy to know you enjoyed yourselves!" Dawn said, noticing Lily was distracted by looking down at her sweater, which she was still wearing, Trevor and Alice having already removed theirs.

 

"Lily?" the ewe asked, looking with concern at the little mystery mammal who finally looked up, a wide grin on her face.

 

"No one's ever made me something before..." Lily said before looking down at her sweater. While Dawn felt elated to know that Lily loved her new sweater, there was an internal frown. She reached over and rested her hoof on one of Lily's paws.

 

"That's something you all will get used to from now on, sweetheart," Dawn said, enjoying how much Lily's face lit up. 

 

After making sure that the children had washed up first, she then herded her children into the kitchen, where Vernon was finishing up the spaghetti. They had confirmed with Lily's pediatrician, as well as her new dentist, that her species were naturally omnivores, and have been slowly introducing meat into her diet, naturally making sure she was comfortable with trying the new foods beforehoof. So on the plate that Vernon happily made for her, he included some beetle meatballs, which he and Alice were already looking forward to, as well as some of the vegetarian meatballs, made of soy, that Dawn and Trevor both enjoyed quite a bit.

 

After all sitting down at the table, the conversation quickly went from the visit with Grandma Clover and Grandpa Cameron, to the upcoming trip they were all going to take to the Hunter family ranch, to meet Grandma Audrey and Grandpa Dorian, as well as Auntie Vanna and Uncle Zach. Vernon described the ranch, and how there they'd get to explore the surrounding woods, with supervision as Dawn was quick to remind, and the corn fields. Dawn felt her heart swell with joy as she saw how excited her mate seemed at the prospect of showing their children where they grew up in the Meadowlands, before Dawn was pulled out of school.

 

"I gotta warn y'all though," Vernon said with mock seriousness, "that my ma... may try to hug each of ya to death." His attempt at a straight face sent Trevor and Lily into a fit of giggles, with Alice trying, and partially failing, to keep from joining in.

 

"What are Uncle Zach and Auntie Vanna like?" Trevor asked. Vernon and Dawn had already informed the children, a few times, that their other grandma and grandpa were nice.

 

"Well, yer Uncle Zach is a bit of a goofball," Vernon said, pointedly ignoring Dawn clapping a hoof over her mouth to stifle a fresh set of giggles. Vernon calling anyone goofy was the proverbial pot calling the kettle black. "And yer Aunt Vanna," Vernon continued, undeterred, "is the strong generally quiet type. But she's a big softy."

 

"Really?" Lily asked.

 

"Oh absolutely," Dawn chimed in, "and while she may not be as expressive as Audrey is going to be about her excitement at getting to meet you, it's going to be pretty clear how thrilled she'll be." Dawn thought about her sister-in-law in question. The large stoic tigress had intimidated her upon their first meeting, but Dawn had been quick to find a much kinder side to her. After dinner was finished, Dawn, reminded by an excited Lily, set about making them each a bowl of ice cream. With the small infusion of sugar. all three children were energized for the first ever family game of Beasts and Battalions.

 

Trevor and Lily had been excited at the idea of the game, with Trevor helping his little sister to make a character of her own. Alice hadn't been too interested when the idea first had been proposed to her, but she had agreed to give it a try. Vernon and Dawn had both tried to hide their excitement, both having been seasoned long-time B&B players. They wanted to make sure that the kids didn't feel pressured, but were also hoping that they would enjoy themselves and find it as interesting as they themselves did.

 

"Alright," the large wolf said once they were all gathered around the coffee table in the living room, the sheets of graph paper he had drawn all of the buildings and landscapes for the first game of the campaign on in a neat stack at one end. He reached over and grabbed the first sheet, which showed an aerial view of a forest just outside a fort. He set the little miniatures of each of the children's and Dawn's characters down next to each other and opened one of the books.

 

"Near dusk, you all come to the fort, which looms ominously ahead. You know that according to legend that there is supposed to be a great treasure inside, but that legend also claims that it is guarded by a terrible beast."

 

And so the game started. While the finer points of the game seemed to be going over Lily's head, she clearly was having fun playing as the bunny warrior. Trevor was following along with rapt attention, loving playing as his sheep sorcerer. Alice, at first, seemed a bit disinterested and confused, but started to get into it herself, playing as a cheetah ranger. Dawn, mindful of her own wolf wizard, was excited to see more of the excited and happy pup that Alice hid away beneath her armor, and she and Vernon shared a look, in between him having fun getting into the different characters he created for the game. They got past the first few rooms and several traps, along with defeating a few monsters, before bedtime for the children rapidly started to approach. With a groan, and a promise that Vernon had written down where they were in the game and all that they had accomplished, he and Dawn started to put everything away while the kids all got ready for bed. The ewe looked up at her wolf and smiled, hugging him close. No words needed to be exchanged to convey their happiness.

 

Once they had finished, the parents went up to each child's room for what had become the nightly bedtime ritual. Dawn and Vernon would read a bedtime story to Lily and Trevor, and of course offer the same to Alice, who would claim that she was just fine, usually while trying to hide her stuffed bunny that she never went to sleep without behind her back. Dawn made sure to turn on the pup's night light, after giving her oldest daughter a kiss on the forehead and wishing her a good night. Alice tried to look embarrassed, but Dawn once more saw the shadow of a smile on her muzzle. Vernon finished tucking Lily in, the latter having fallen asleep shortly after the former had started with one of her new books. And of course, Trevor once more fought against sleep, wanting to keep knowing what the next chapter would bring on the space-faring sci-fi adventure story that Dawn was reading to him.

 

Once finished and sure that the children were all seen to for the night, Dawn and Vernon enjoyed one another's company, watching a late-night cheesy horror film before heading to bed themselves. They were snuggling close, Dawn once more enjoying burying her nose in Vernon's neck ruff, when both of their ears perked at the sound of a door in the hall opening. By now they recognized the sound of Alice sneaking into Lily's room after a nightmare. Vernon gave Dawn a reassuring squeeze, neither one able to resist the urge to check in on them one last time before going to sleep themselves.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> **And there you have it, readers! Chapter six! I hope that you enjoyed it! Feel free to leave a review!**


	7. Chapter 7

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> **Hello there, readers! I'm super excited to bring to you the newest chapter of _Found_! I hope that you enjoy it!**

"After Alice's match is when we were thinkin' of bringin' the pups up to the ranch fer a visit, Ma," Vernon said as Dawn lay beside him in their bed, smiling contentedly as his free arm held her small body close to his much larger frame. Vernon was presently on the phone with his mother. He smiled down at Dawn before continuing.

 

"Well of course we were plannin' on filmin' the game, Ma, it's gunna be her first match. Yeah, we'll send ya an' Pa a copy." Dawn smiled as she listened to Vernon's half of the conversation, the Lovecloptian book she had been reading forgotten for the moment. She nuzzled closer to her mate when, out of the corner of her eye, she saw movement.

 

"Love you and Pa too, Ma. Talk to ya soon," Vernon said, ending the call and setting his phone on the nightstand. "Alright, so after Alice's game is when we take advantage of the upcomin' three day weekend fer the pups and introduce 'em to some more of their family," Vernon said aloud for confirmation of their plans. Not hearing a peep out of his ewe, the wolf looked down at her, staring at the door to their bedroom. "Something wrong, Floofy?" Vernon asked, his ears perking up at the sound of stifled giggling coming from the door. He noticed a certain furless paw holding onto the slightly ajar door.

 

"Somethin' funny, Lily?" Vernon asked with a smile forming on his muzzle. The little mammal poked her head into the room, looking guilty.

 

"I-I wasn't trying to listen, Daddy," she said. Vernon's tail thumped.

 

"We believe you, sweetie," Dawn said, "but I recall tucking you in a while ago. Did you want me to read you another bedtime story?"

 

Lily shook her head and gazed down at her feet, looking a bit uncomfortable. Dawn thought for a moment, an idea striking her.

 

"Did you have a bad dream?" Dawn asked, her youngest daughter's answer coming in the form of a sudden and rapid nodding of her head. "And did you want to sleep with Daddy and me tonight?"

 

"Please?" Lily asked, looking up, Dawn seeing a touch of fear in her deep blue eyes. She and Vernon shared a brief look before scooting aside to make a space for her, with Dawn patting the space with a hoof. Lily wasted no time hurrying over to the bed and climbing up to crawl between them.

 

"Th-thank you," she said as she got herself situated, finding Dawn wrapping her arms around her in a protective embrace.

 

"Anytime, princess," Vernon rumbled, leaning down to give Lily a gentle kiss on her forehead. She mumbled something that neither Dawn nor Vernon could easily hear.

 

"What was that, Lily?" Vernon asked. Lily looked away before looking back up at their concerned faces.

 

"C-can I stay?" she asked in a small voice.

 

"Well yeah," Vernon said, ruffling her headfur with a massive paw. Lily smiled a little, but shook her head.

 

"N-no... c-can I stay... here... with Alice and Trevor?" She clarified. It took a second for the two parents to figure out just what she meant, and both looked even more concerned before giving the little scared mystery mammal between them a hug.

 

"Of course, sweetie," Dawn said, tightening her grip a little.

 

"Would you like to talk about it?" Vernon asked. Lily took a moment to think about it, and simply shook her head. "Alright, we won't go pushin' ya," Vernon replied, giving her another squeeze. "Just know that if you ever do wanna talk about it, yer mother and I are both willin' to listen." Dawn nodded in agreement, which brought the smile back to Lily's face. 

 

"And you should know that you and your brother and sister are all here to stay. You're our little lambs now, and you always will be, even when you're all grown up," Dawn said, smiling as she felt Lily hug her back.

 

"Does that mean you'll still read me bedtime stories, even when I'm a grown-up?" Lily earnestly asked, causing a rumbling chuckle from the large wolf.

 

"Of course, Princess," was his answer, which Dawn was quick to sincerely echo. Satisfied with their answer, Lily let out a yawn, and closed her eyes, curling in close to Dawn, who slightly tightened her hug on Lily. Dawn rested her chin on her daughter's head while Vernon smiled. He reached to turn off the lamp and stopped when he noticed a hoof and a paw on the still partially ajar door, and let out another low rumbling chuckle.

 

"I think that we got us two more who might wanna join their little sister, Floofy," he said, smiling at the failed concealed snickers emanating not only from behind the door, but also coming from his side. Dawn rolled her eyes, also entertained by how amused the children seemed to be by her nickname.

 

"I think that you're right, Puppy," was her response, which garnered some more snickers.

 

 

_The next day..._

 

 

Vernon yawned a little and stretched, happy to still find Alice and Trevor in his arms. The little lamb and pup were curled up and only just now starting to stir. Looking over, Vernon saw Lily curled tightly against Dawn, the ewe awake and smiling down at the little mystery mammal. The smile on her face was quick to disappear, however, upon hearing some faint whimpers coming from their youngest. Dawn shifted a little, which resulted in another whimper and Lily curling even closer into her. Dawn started to look worried as Alice sat up and began rubbing her eyes.

 

"Lily sometimes has nightmares," the young she-wolf sleepily mumbled, letting out a tired yawn and hugging her grey stuffed bunny, "of her mo -- her old mommy leaving and never coming back."

 

Vernon and Dawn shared a look, the wolf seeing the concern in Dawn's eyes. Resting her chin back on top of Lily's head mane, Dawn started to rock the little mammal, which was a bit of a feat considering that Lily was almost as big as she was, humming a lullaby she remembered her mother singing when she had been a little lamb. The whimpering stopped and Lily began to sleep much more peacefully, while Trevor started to open his eyes and Alice just watched.

 

"How about we go downstairs and get breakfast started?" Vernon said, giving the now awake Trevor and Alice both a nudge. Trevor nodded, his mind still a little foggy, while Alice started to get up, suddenly realizing something. Panicking, she swept her bunny behind her back, looking embarrassed, before hopping down off the bed and running out of the room.

 

"Allie gets embarrassed when people find out she still sleeps with Princess Floppington," Trevor said as he let out a yawn, looking surprised to find himself being carried out of the room, being transferred to a chuckling Vernon's shoulder.

 

"Well now, there's nothin' embarrasin' about having a special friend to go to bed with. Yer Ma will tell you that that's what I'm mostly for," Vernon's voice carried in from the hallway, bringing a smile and a semi-suppressed giggle from the ewe. She looked back down at her youngest daughter, still sleeping peacefully in her arms. She felt the unease at Lily's distress returning and simply resolved to lay there with her for as long as she needed. It was another few minutes before Lily started to wake up as well. She looked a little confused before looking up into Dawn's smiling face.

 

"Good morning, sleepyhead," Dawn said, planting a kiss on Lily's forehead, which brought a bright and happy smile, along with a tight hug from her.

 

"Good morning, Mommy!" Dawn still felt a rush of excitement upon hearing her new title. The two shared a hug, before Dawn finally decided to ask the question. 

 

"You seemed to be having a bad dream there for a minute, would you like to talk about it?" Lily looked away, unsure of just what to say. "It's okay if you don't, I just want you to know that no one will be angry with you, not one bit."

 

"Promise?" Lily asked in a squeak.

 

"I promise," Dawn said, nuzzling her daughter. It was a few more moments before Lily started.

 

"I dreamt of when I was littler... and m-my... uhm... old m-mommy... went away..." Dawn noticed Lily curl into herself a little bit, as though she were bracing herself. Once Dawn started rocking her, though, Lily seemed to relax a bit, which in turn encouraged her to open up a little bit more.

 

"We were at a park. I remember that she seemed really sad and scared. She set me down at a playground, under a jungle gym, and told me to wait there... she said she was gunna come right back, but that she had to go away for a little while... but she was gone for a really long time... and she never came back..." Lily sniffled as Dawn just held her.

 

"Sweetie... did that really happen?" Dawn asked, perturbed.

 

Lily nodded. "I started to get hungry... but I didn't wanna leave the place she told me to stay, because she might not be able to find me again. But my tummy really started to hurt, so I went looking for something to eat. I left the spot, and it got dark out, but then the light came back, but the park looked different, and I couldn't find the jungle gym and... I got lost. So I hid, I didn't know what to do, and then a police officer, a great big grizzly bear, found me. He was nice, and offered to help me find my mommy... but..."

 

"They never found her?" Dawn asked, her heart breaking at the thought alone of how scared the little mammal in her arms must have been. Seeing the tears in her eyes prompted the ewe to give Lily another kiss.

 

"I'm so sorry, sweetheart," she said as she felt Lily renew her efforts to hug her close, offering whatever comfort she could to her daughter.

 

"I-I really wanna stay... with you and Daddy and Alice and Trevor... I d-don't wanna be alone again." Dawn was now holding Lily tightly against her chest.

 

"You won't be alone again, sweetheart," Dawn said, her own eyes prickling with tears that she was quick to blink away, focusing on reassuring Lily and trying to cheer her up. "You and your brother and sister are all here to stay, and I have no problem telling you that again and again."

 

"Thank you," Lily whispered, burying her face in Dawn's chest. They laid there, holding onto one another for a while yet, before they ended their embrace. Lily's mood had elevated back to its usual level of brightness. Dawn gave her one more hug and then let her run off to join the now audible giggles coming from downstairs. Dawn took a moment to wipe her eyes, smiling at the sounds of her happy children. She thought about what she had just learned from her youngest, and felt the pit of worry she had recently developed, ever since the adoption, return, not that it had ever really left. She reached for her phone and texted Judy, asking if she was going to be free this afternoon. She then took a second to compose herself, and then hopped out of bed.

 

Breakfast passed by in a happy blur, soon to be followed by a rush for everyone to get ready for their day. Vernon geared up for another day at work, having been hinting at his project and how it had been coming together. Dawn getting ready for an outing with Judy, after receiving confirmation from her about having the day off. And of course, they helped the kids prepare for school. Vernon took notice of how Dawn seemed to hover around the pups, especially Lily, and seemed to be more inclined to give them hugs and similar forms of physical affection today, but said nothing about it. At least not until he and Dawn were alone in the minivan, the ewe having returned after escorting each of the children to class, giving them all one last big hug on the way, much to Alice's seeming embarrassment, despite what her wagging tail may have been insisting.

 

"Is something the matter, Lamb Chop?" Vernon asked as he started to pull out of the school's parking lot.

 

"Oh, Puppy," Dawn said, before explaining to her mate what Lily had told her that morning. As he listened, making sure to pay attention to the road, of course, his ears started to droop and his tail tried, and failed, to tuck itself while he sat in the driver's seat.

 

"I can't believe that someone, a mother, would just abandon her baby like that! What was she thinking!" Dawn said, incensed.

 

"Well now, Honey Lamb, that does sound purty awful," Vernon agreed, "but to be fair, we don't know the whole story."

 

"She just left her, Vernon!" Dawn said, still unable to fathom how anyone could do such a thing.

 

"Accordin' to Lily, it seems that way," Vernon nodded, "but she was really little at the time, and, like I said, we don't know the whole story."

 

"Maybe," Dawn reluctantly agreed, "but I intend to find out the whole story. And when I find her... _that_ female, I'm going to give her a piece of my mind for just up and abandoning my baby!"

 

"Hon'," Vernon started as he pulled back onto their street, "are you sure that that's a good idea? Whatever Lily is, she's almost as big as you, so I imagine that a full grown member of her species is probably purty big, maybe even bigger than me."

 

"Doesn't matter!" Dawn said, puffing out her cheeks in anger, which unfortunately, according to Vernon, and just about anyone else who'd seen Dawn's 'angry face', it was actually quite adorable, thus defeating its own purpose.

 

"I know that you can be a force to be reckoned with," Vernon said, holding back a chuckle, "but... maybe it just wouldn't be a good idea to make contact with Lily's birth mother. Maybe there was a reason, or maybe she never intended on abandonin' her in the first place but somthin' happened or... maybe she's... y'know... no longer around..."

 

Dawn's anger deflated a little, and she let out her held breath. "I guess you do make a good point, Puppy Love," Dawn conceded, "but... Lily still deserves to know more about what species she is... I don't know, I thought that maybe..."

 

"Information about her birth mother might give you somethin' to go on?" Vernon offered as he pulled into their driveway.

 

"Well... yeah. This piece of information that Lily provided might just be the lead we need to move forward," Dawn said as she unbuckled herself and opened her door.

 

"I agree, Floofs," Vernon said, his tail breaking free to wag as he leaned over to share a kiss with his mate. "And just remember, Dawn, if anyone can do it, it'll be _ewe_ ," Vernon said, smiling smugly at the snort he got from Dawn.

 

"Vernon! You promised that you would stop with those jokes!" Dawn said, reaching over to playfully swat the wolf on his arm.

 

"Hey now, _ewe_ told me to stop, I never said that I would," he chuckled. Dawn rolled her eyes, smiling as she muttered about him and his dad jokes, and how they were now much more appropriate for him. With a quick goodbye, Vernon pulled back out and headed on into work, while Dawn waited for Judy to pull up. She didn't have to wait too long before Judy zipped up in the bunny-sized beat-up-looking truck her parents had given her last year. Dawn smiled as she greeted one of her closest friends, climbing into the passenger seat. 

 

They started with the usual idle chatter as they made their way to their destination, Dawn talking about the most recent developments of being a parent, Judy excitedly talking about her police work, as well as news from the family farm back in Bunnyburrow. They pulled up to the newest cafe to have caught Dawn's eye, as it also doubled as a bookstore. Stopping to claim a table by the large window and placing their orders, the ewe and the bunny then softly spoke to one another as they perused the aisles, looking through various titles. Dawn told Judy about the children sleeping with them the previous night, which the officer found to be adorable, followed up by waking up and learning more of Lily's mysterious origin.

 

"So Lily was picked up two years ago, after her mother just left her in a park?" Judy asked. Dawn had known Judy long enough to be able to tell that the gears in Judy's mind were already starting to turn.

 

"Yes. It just made me so mad to think about... but... on the other hoof, now I have a little more information to work with for my research." Dawn picked up a small book of children's fairy tales.

 

"Has she given a description of her biological mother?" Judy asked, taking note of the frown on her friend's muzzle as she asked.

 

"Well, no, but out of fairness, a species this rare is going to stand out. All I have to do is find the park she was found in, and then start to ask around," Dawn said, putting the book back.

 

"Or Nick and I could do it," Judy offered, spying a detective book she had read when she was a child, her personal favorite of the Herdy Boys books, and grabbed it.

 

Dawn looked over at Judy in surprise. "Judy, I couldn't ask you to do that!"

 

"Why not?" was the bunny's response. "Nick and I can easily find and talk to the officer who picked Lily up, as well as ask around, And Nick is a natural when it comes to interviewing mammals."

 

Dawn rubbed her arm with her hoof. "It does sound like you can get further than I can on my own, but would that be allowed?"

 

"No rule against asking around if some mammals had seen a strange-looking mammal two years ago," Judy said with a shrug, noticing Dawn's growing excitement out of the corner of her amethyst eyes. "Besides," Judy casually continued, "as a potential godparent candidate, I of course want to help all three of your kits in any way I can."

 

Dawn froze, looking very much like a deer jogger she had seen once who had almost been run over after he had frozen in place, mid run, upon looking into a set of headlights from one of her neighbors' cars.

 

_Sweet sawgrass, we haven't even discussed who the godparents will be!_ Dawn thought, feeling a momentary surge of panic.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> **Thank you very much for reading the newest chapter! This chapter was proofread by my very good friend, _Trismegistus Shandy_ , a very talented author whose stories I absolutely recommend! Please feel free to tell me what you think of the new chapter!**


	8. Chapter 8

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> **Hello there, dear readers! I am so excited to have finished this new chapter of _Found_! This chapter was proofread by the still wonderful and amazing _Trismegistus Shandy_! This story was inspired by the astoundingly powerful _Rehabilitation of Dawn Bellwether_ and the sequel _A Lamb Among Wolves_ , both written by the excellent _WastedTimeEE_!**

"That's my girl!" Vernon called out, a wide grin on his muzzle, his tail a blur. Alice had just scored a goal and was already jogging back to position. She looked up upon hearing that, and smiled a little awkwardly, the black pup's own tail wagging. Lily was perched on his shoulders, hugging the back of his neck as she peered over his head to excitedly watch the game. Vernon then turned his head to look back at Lily and smiled at her. "And there's my other girl." This made Lily smile and hug the large wolf.

 

Dawn giggled while she filmed the match on her phone, holding Trevor's hoof. "And that's my little guy." Vernon finished off, reaching over to ruffle the black lamb's head poof. Not for the first time since they had arrived, that had garnered a few stares that the family was pointedly ignoring.

 

"Oh! And Alice's got the ball again!" Dawn couldn't stop delightedly narrating as she filmed. Alice's team, the Dragons, was ahead by seven points and the family couldn't be prouder. Not that Dawn and Vernon hadn't already discussed ways to show that they were proud even if the pup's team had done poorly.

 

"Daddy, is Alice gunna get a trophy?" Vernon heard Lily ask into his ear.

 

"Well, her team has ter win a few more games first, but I'm thinkin' she's well on her way," Vernon said. "Why d'ya ask, sweetheart?"

 

"'Cause she's never gotten a trophy before, and I know that she really wants to win one," Lily said, watching her big sister energetically running around, passing the ball to a teammate, to have it passed back shortly after while she was in a position to fire it into the goal before the zebra boy goalie could stop it.

 

"Well, don't you worry, Lily," Vernon said, reaching up to ruffle Lily's headfur, making her giggle, "sooner or later, it's gunna happen, right darlin'?"

 

Dawn looked up at her mate and littlest daughter and smiled reassuringly. "Absolutely. In fact, we might even have to build a shelf just for trophies," Dawn said, suddenly thinking that that might be a fun project for them and the children to do together, her ears perking at the sounds of Lily and Trevor snickering.

 

"And what's so funny about that?" Vernon asked, having also heard the two.

 

"Mommy showed us the picture of you getting the doll house you built stuck on your muzzle," Trevor piped up, the idea of their father building something sparking the memory.

 

Vernon looked over to his mate. "You just had to show 'em that picture, didn't ya?" Dawn nodded at this, looking a little guilty, but also like she might join in on the snickering.

 

"I'll have you both know that that weren't no dollhouse. When I first started work at the department it was as an internship, building houses for Little Rodentia. That there was a house for a nice mouse family that moved here from Manehatten, which we luckily got it unstuck just in time for 'em." Vernon looked proud as he spoke.

 

"But how'd you get it stuck on your nose, Daddy?" Lily asked.

 

"Well, I was finishin' up on some of the final touches on the inside... and I had to get real close to look at it... and next thing I knew, my nose was stuck." Vernon smiled at the sounds of Lily and Trevor's laughter, accompanying the sight of Alice passing the ball to a giraffe boy who scored the final goal for the game, bringing the total to 67 points to 66. Not only did he feel a swell of pride for Alice for her team winning the game, but also for how well she already seemed to understand and respect team work. Soon enough, after the teams both said good game to each other, and the kindly female black bear coach had a few words with her exuberant team, Alice was jogging over to where her family was.

 

"We won!" she said, jumping up and down.

 

"You sure did," Vernon said, reaching down to scoop Alice up into a hug.

 

"Congratulations, sweetie!" Dawn said, taking a second to save her footage of the game, making a mental note to send copies to the rest of the family. "You were amazing!"

 

Alice started to look uncomfortable at being praised so much, but her wagging tail belied her true feelings.

 

"I'm thinkin' that this calls fer a stop fer some ice cream," Vernon said, suddenly wincing at Lily's cheer, the little mystery mammal instantly noticing her father's reaction and remembering when she had been told about how sensitive a wolf's hearing was.

 

"Sorry, Daddy," Lily said, to be met with a chuckle.

 

"That's okay, princess," Vernon said, still carrying a now very embarrassed/happy Alice in his arms towards the car, "just try to remember that yer old mam's ears are sensitive."

 

Dawn and Trevor both shared a giggle as Dawn followed behind, putting her phone away.

 

"Well hey there, pretty lady," Dawn heard a voice say. She wasn't sure if she was the one being addressed, but she stopped and turned to see who had spoken anyway. Standing a few feet away from her was a ram with a sly grin, looking in her direction. It took Dawn a second to realize that he was the new assistant coach.

 

"The name's Leonard Hoofton," he said with that grin still plastered on his muzzle, "I don't believe that I've caught yours."

 

"Oh, w-well, I'm Dawn Hu--" Dawn said, cut off by the sudden proximity of the ram, instinctively thinking to pull Trevor behind herself.

 

"I saw that big wolf crowding you. If you want, I could have a talk with him and get him to give you some space at the next match," Leonard said with a wink. Dawn frowned at that.

 

_The only mammal who is crowding me is you,_ Dawn thought, not vocalizing this so as to remain polite in front of one of her children.

 

"He's actually my mate," Dawn said explained. She frowned some more when she saw the ram roll his eyes.

 

"Oh, c'mon now. You don't need to go and make up excuses. A simple no would suffice."

 

Growing frustrated, Dawn switched the hooves that she was holding Trevor's in, and showed off the red half-moon tithe mark, ginning a little to herself at the look of shock on the grown ram's face, before continuing on, still holding onto Trevor's hoof.

 

"Who was that, mommy?" Trevor innocently asked.

 

"A type of mammal that is a perfect example of what not to be when you grow up," Dawn said chipperly, making her son smile. They soon reached the car, Vernon having already buckled Lily in, Alice sitting next to her.

 

"Everythin' alright, darlin'?" he asked as they approached, Trevor climbing in.

 

"Oh, I'll tell you about it later," Dawn said, smiling first at him, and then at all three of her lambs. Once everyone was buckled in, Vernon drove them to the nearest ice cream shop. Dawn got out to put money in the meter while Vernon helped the kids to get unbuckled and out onto the sidewalk. Resuming her "helicopter" parenting style that had become her norm, the ewe took Alice and Lily's paws in her hooves, while Vernon started to carry Trevor. The large grey wolf held the door open for his mate and girls, following behind. He transferred the lamb to his shoulders, his tail swishing contentedly as he and his family waited in line.

 

"So what d'you think you'll have, Trevor?" he asked, looking up to see the black lamb scanning the menu.

 

"Oooh, can I have the chocolate turf crunch?" Trevor asked. Vernon smiled, figuring that Trevor would have picked his favorite flavor of grass-based ice cream.

 

"Well o'course, buddy," Vernon responded as the hippo in the blue jogging suit in front of them continued to stare blankly at the menu.

 

"And I think I'll be havin' the strawberry beetle cheesecake," Vernon said.

 

"What about you girls?" Vernon said, looking down, taking in Aice who seemed to have zeroed in on a specific selection on the menu. He looked up and wondered what it was before spotting the most likely choice. The caramel apple ice cream. Vernon chuckled.

 

"See something you like, Allie?" he asked, shocking the pup out of her almost-trance.

 

"Uh... maybe," Alice said, trying to look nonchalant, prompting another chuckle from Vernon and a giggle from Dawn.

 

"And what about you, Lily?" Dawn asked, giving Lily's furless paw a squeeze.

 

"Uhm... can I try the strawberry beetle like Daddy?" Lily looked tentative as she asked it.

 

"You sure can," Dawn said, pulling Lily a little closer when she noticed a few seated patrons staring at the little mystery mammal. She gave them a withering glare, but was thankful that Lily didn't seem to notice it.

 

"What'll you have, Mommy?" she asked, looking at the ewe in curiosity.

 

"Hmm, I think I'll go with the mixed forb sorbet," Dawn said.

 

"Maybe they should call it a mixed _forbet_ ," Vernon said, making himself chuckle. Lily and Trevor both giggled, while Alice held back, not trying to laugh at another terrible "dad-joke". In the time she had come to know her new father, the pup had quickly learned that he had a love for puns. She had even been told the story of how he had annoyed a sheep sales clerk at a store that sold all ewe-pun related items. Dawn rolled her eyes, but smiled at her mate's antics.

 

The hippo made his order, an octuple scoop of eight different flavors in a large mammal size chocolate and sprinkle coated waffle cone. Finally, it was their turn to order. The teenaged female badger behind the counter seemed relieved at the comparatively smaller orders. Seeing her reminded Vernon of his brother Ulric, who had sent another text asking about the shaved ape, referring to Lily, who had called earlier that morning.

 

_Where he got shaved ape from, I'll never guess,_ Vernon thought to himself. Ulric's girlfriend, Honey, while sharing his belief in conspiracies and such, seemed much more grounded in reality, at least in comparison with his brother. The call had been about something to do with the tides changing, and how that somehow led to claims of a larger shaved ape in the woods of the Meadowlands. His explanations were long and, as per usual, contradictory. But the gist that Vernon got from it was that Ulric, as well as Honey, were going to be using his upcoming vacation time to search for a shaved ape... or catsquatch. Thankfully, that was going to be next week. They took their orders and found a booth to sit at. Lily and Trevor sat in Vernon's lap, while Alice was seated next to Dawn. The family all found Vernon getting a spot of his ice cream on the very tip of his nose and, no matter how many times he licked it, he kept missing the spot. They talked about the game and the trip that they were going to be leaving for in under two hours. Soon enough, they were piling back into the car, and headed home.

 

Dawn helped the children to pack, pretending not to notice Alice making sure to pack her stuffed bunny, Princess Floppington, after Alice had changed out of her jersey. Trevor packed some of his books, and Lily a few coloring books and her sketch pad. Once they were packed, Dawn packed her own bag, as Vernon finished up his. They shared a smile as their eyes met, leaning down to share a kiss. 

 

Checking the time, Dawn called a Zuber, driven by a cheerful aardvark, who drove them to the train station. Dawn pulled Lily and Trevor close to herself, while Vernon carried the luggage, with Alice helping. They received some more stares, a few notably unfriendly ones, as they waited in line together at the ticket counter. Vernon scanned his phone for their tickets, and then it was just a matter of waiting. So, after taking a seat on a nearby bench, that's just what they did. Vernon was taking turns with Trevor playing a game on his phone, while Alice sat between them and Dawn, who was keeping an eye on her and Lily.

 

Lily looked all around at the train station, as well at all the passing mammals. She was swinging her legs as she looked on in wide-eyed wonder at the massive trains.

 

"Excited, sweetie?" Dawn asked. Lily looked to her and nodded enthusiastically.

 

"Uh-huh! I've never been on a train before, Mommy!"

 

Dawn spotted some passing mammals do a double take at the sight of the strange mammal calling the ewe mommy, but ignored them. She was delighted to see how enthusiastic Lily was.

 

"And what about you, honey?" Dawn asked Alice, surprising the pup.

 

"Uh... I... sure," Alice said. Dawn reached over and gave her a squeeze. Soon enough, their train had arrived, the passengers clearing out. Making sure that they had everything, they all boarded. Dawn kept a firm grip on Alice and Lily's paws as Vernon, now with Trevor riding his left shoulder, carried the luggage on board. He stored it in the compartment above, and took a seat. Dawn sat down, all three children between them, and they waited as the rest of the passengers boarded. Since this was a trip to the Meadowlands, there were many caprids who boarded. Various sheep and goats walking by, picking seats, some taking note of the mixed-species family. Of course, there were more than a few wolves heading to the Meadowlands as well, and some of them noticed the family. And there were many other species that boarded, all either for the Meadowlands or the stops along the way. Soon the train started to pull out.

 

All three of the children grew excited as they stood in their seats and turned to stare out the window at the passing sights. They went from the Savannah Central station, through to Tundra Town. The train stopped and some mammals disembarked. A few more boarded, and then the train was off again. They soon passed through Saharah Square, the heaters having switched off in favor of the AC.

 

"See that spot over there?" Vernon pointed to an area where there was some construction underway, an artificial oasis being dug out of the ground. The children all nodded.

 

"That area there is gunna to be where the library I'm designing is gunna be built!" Vernon said with pride.

 

"Wow! Can we go when it's built?" Trevor asked.

 

"Sure thing, li'l buddy," Vernon said, patting Trevor's head floof.

 

"I bet it's gonna be pretty." Lily said, entranced by all the different buildings they were passing. They came to a stop once more, and were soon moving on through the rainforest district. Alice looked up at the tree-top shops, while Lily and Trevor pressed their noses up against the glass, looking at all the greenery. After a stop there, it was time for the train to head to the Meadowlands. Dawn and Vernon shared a happy look, knowing that opting for this train line, while a little more expensive than the subway they had taken on their first trip out as a couple, was definitely the better choice, as it was much more scenic and clearly enjoyable for their lambs. It was another half an hour before they were pulling in to their station, Vernon once more resuming his role as de facto pack-emu, while Dawn herded their children out of the train.

 

Dawn squinted a little in the considerably brighter mid-afternoon light, after exiting the station, looking around. She stopped and smiled when she spotted a familiar beat-up looking pick-up truck parked at the curb. As soon as she spotted it, the driver's side door opened, and out came Audrey, her mother-in-law. The older she-wolf practically bounded over in excitement. She was dressed in her usual jeans and flannel shirt, and was sporting an excited grin. She came to a stop before them, her tail wagging so fast, Dawn was a little worried that she might sprain it. She looked them over, especially the children.

 

"Hiya, pups," she said, ecstatic, "I'm your grandma, Audrey!" She took note of the little black wolf pup standing in front of the other two, defensively, and remembered what Dawn and Vernon had told her.

 

"Hello," Alice said, polite and serious, looking surprised when Lily walked forward, a wide grin on her face. Vernon had explained to her, a few times, that grandma Audrey and grandpa Dorian were both nice, which seemed to have emboldened his youngest pup.

 

"H-hi, Grandma," she said, opening her arms. With no hesitation whatsoever, Audrey bent down and scooped her up, unable to resist also scooping up Trevor and Alice, who let out a surprised and uncharacteristic yip, as they all found themselves being cuddled. Lily giggled, especially when Audrey started to sniff each of them over, committing their scents to memory. This of course brought happy and tickle-related giggles from each of them.

 

"I'm just so darn happy to finally be meetin' y'all!" Audrey said, biting back a happy howl, not wanting to set off the other wolves that happened to be in hearing distance.

 

"Don't go crushin' 'em now, Ma," Vernon joked.

 

"Oh, hush, Puppy," Audrey said, giving the kids another loving squeeze. She did notice that the little hairless mammal was looking up at her, her head cocked to the side in curiosity.

 

"You and Daddy have the same fur color," Lily stated.

 

"We sure do, Sweet Pea," Audrey said, cuddling her grandpups close still, not looking like she was planning on putting them down anytime soon. "Your daddy sure does take after me quite a bit." This made Vernon blush as he started to load the luggage into the back of the truck.

 

"And of course, I'm happy to have you two back here as well," Audrey then addressed Vernon, who was loading the luggage into the back of the truck, and Dawn, who already had her phone whipped out and was snapping pictures.

 

"We're happy to be back, with our little lambs, Mom," Dawn said, still feeling a surge of happiness course through her at getting to call the older she-wolf that.

 

"Y'know, Ma," Vernon started as he loaded the last piece, which was Trevor's backpack with the Samurai Snakes logo on it, "You can't really drive while huggin' all the pup at once."

 

"Can too," Audrey said, before giving one more squeeze, and then setting them all down, "but let's not risk it." Dawn was already starting to herd them towards the truck, while Vernon hopped up into the back. Dawn helped the children up and get settled in, reaching over to help Alice with her seatbelt after she had climbed up herself and found her to be having a little trouble with it. Audrey smiled brightly as she clambered back in and fired up the engine.

 

"Dori wanted ter come, but he's still on his shift. Don't worry though, he'll be along shortly," Audrey said as they pulled away from the train station and headed in the direction of the Hunter Ranch.

 

"Is Grampa really the sheriff?" Lily asked, looking over to her grandma, expectantly.

 

"He sure is," Audrey said proudly. "He's the sheriff of the entire North Meadowlands."

 

It wasn't much longer before the ranch started to come into view. They started passing the crops of corn and pumpkins as they turned onto a gravel driveway. Audrey pulled them to a stop, putting the truck in park, and stepping out. Vernon smiled at the sight of the two-story building, looking just as good as it always did. The two-storey wooden home in clear view brought back memories that made his tail swish. He hopped out and started to unload the luggage, just as Dawn was hopping out. Vernon saw his mother exit the driver's side door, once more cuddling all three pups close in her arms, effectively carrying them, much to their delight. Even Alice who, as per usual, was trying to look embarrassed. It was then that a cruiser pulled in, with the sheriff's logo on the side. Out stepped the large white wolf that was Dorian Hunter, who removed his wide-brimmed hat to wipe his forehead, smiling as his steel grey eyes took in the new arrivals.

 

"Hey, Dori!" He turned to his mate as she held up the pups in her arms for him to see. "Look what I caught!" This elicited not only some more happy squeals from the children, but a deep rumbling chuckle from the old law dog. His chuckle tapered off a little when he spotted the strange unknown mammal in his mate's arms, and the corners of his mouth turned down slightly, but he was quick to remedy that as he approached. The feeling of deja vu still pestered him at the back of his mind.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> **I really hope that you enjoyed the new chapter! Please feel free to leave a review!**


	9. Chapter 9

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> **Phew! It took quite a bit of effort to break through this most recent wall of writer's block, but FINALLY! I am especially happy, and excited, to bring to you the newest chapter of _Found_!**
> 
> **Special thanks to _WastedTimeEE_ not only for giving me permission to write this story using his awesome characters, but also for helping me with the characters themselves! :)  
> **

"Now ya knead the dough like so," Audrey's voice floated in from the kitchen, all the way into the living room, where presently Vernon and Dorian were sitting. "There ya go! Just like that! Yer a pro just like yer granny!"

 

Vernon smiled as his tail started to thump at the sounds of his pups laughing and chatting with his mother. When Audrey had proposed teaching the kids how to bake a pie, they had jumped at the chance. Dawn had been quick to whip her phone out to start recording, continuing to document as many happy family moments as she could.

 

"Sounds like Ma's teachin' 'em how to bake her pumpkin pie,"Vernon said to the older, white wolf. Dorian let out a low rumbling chuckle.

 

"Yer mother's been lookin' forward to finally gettin' to meet 'em," he said.

 

"And what 'bout you, Pa?" Vernon asked, smiling. He noticed the brief pause Dorian took before answering.

 

"Well, of course I'm excited to finally be a grandpa, and that I get to meet my grandpups," Dorian said, his gaze shifting a little.

 

"Something wrong, Pa?" Vernon asked.

 

"W-well, no, Vern, nothin's wrong..." Dorian started to rub the back of his head, looking uncomfortable. "I was just wonderin' about yer littlest... pup."

 

"Lily?" Vernon asked, "what about her?"

 

"Have you and Dawn managed to... uhm... figure out just what she is?" Dorian bluntly asked.

 

Vernon blinked. "No, but Dawn thinks that her friends at the ZPD might be able to uncover somthin'."

 

"Oh, well, uh, good," Dorian said, looking about as awkward as the moment itself had become.

 

"But we don't know fer certain if we'll learn anything," Vernon continued, not liking where this conversation was going. "Not that it matters. She's our pup, just like her brother and sister."

 

The white wolf's icy-blue eyes winced. "Well, o-of course, Vern... it's just that..." Dorian trailed off, looking unsure about what he wanted to say.

 

"What, Pa?"

 

"I don't know, exactly," Dorian explained, meeting his son's gaze, "but ever since y'all sent us those first pictures, I've been gettin' this feelin' in the back of my mind like I've seen something like her before... only I can't fer the life of me remember where."

 

"You mean you've encountered her species before?"

 

"No, son, and I would remember if I did. There's just something about her that's nagging at me in the back of my mind. But, as hard as I try to recall it, it just slips away."

 

"You'll tell us if you do remember, right Pa?"

 

"Well 'course, Vern," Dorian said with a smile, "the second I can think of it, I'll call you and Dawn right up to let'cha know."

 

It was just then that Audrey proudly walked in, once more carrying Lily, Trevor, and Alice in her arms, Dawn following behind and still filming.

 

"Welp," Audrey started over the giggling of Lily and Trevor, "they're all naturals when it comes to baking."

 

"Uh," Alice said, squirming a little in Audrey's arm, "G-grandma?"

 

"Yes, sweet pea?" the she-wolf.

 

"Can I get down now?" Alice asked.

 

"Awww," Audrey said in mock disappointment, before giving one more hug, and setting the three down.

 

"Uhm... where's the bathroom?" the black pup asked.

 

"I'll show you, sweetie," Dawn said as she tapped on her phone and put it away. She then took Alice's paw, which made the inside of the pup's ears blush, and started to lead her down the hall. Vernon then found himself with a lapful of giggling children.

 

"We made pies, Daddy!" Lily said, excitedly.

 

"So I heard," Vernon said, wrapping his arms around them both.

 

"We made one each!" Trevor said, letting out an involuntary bleat of joy.

 

"Well, I can't wait to try each one after dinner tonight," Vernon said, ruffling Lily's head mane and Trevor's head floof. Audrey stood there and wiped away a happy tear while Dorian smiled... but found his eyes kept focusing on Lily. He felt that slight sense of unease return, but pushed it back down. They were interrupted by the doorbell ringing, making all of the canids' ears perk up.

 

"I wonder who that is?" Audrey said as she walked out of the living room. She opened the front door, surprised to see a familiar wolf and badger standing there on the welcome mat, both wearing backpacks much larger than themselves. 

 

"Ully? Honey? We... eh... weren't expectin' you two fer another week," she said as she blinked in confusion.

 

"I was able to get off work ahead of time, Mama," Ulric said, his tail wagging, "and we heard about the sightings and the mysterious campfires, and knew that the investigation couldn't wait any longer!" Ulric said with manic excitement.

 

"Lamb sakes, Ully," Audrey said, stepping aside to let the two in, "that's just some kids out partyin'."

 

"That's what they want you to believe!"

 

"Ully, who's they?" Audrey asked.

 

"The Secret Society of Shaved Simians!" Ulric pointed a finger skyward as he said this in triumph. "You see, thanks to patterns involving chemtrails, I've discovered that there's a secret plot to observe and potentially invade the Northern, and maybe even the Southern, Meadowlands! Where the shaved apes will then attempt to abduct, eliminate, and disguise themselves as various mammals."

 

"Or it's just Catsquatch," Honey interjected with a smirk. "We currently have a bet going as to who's right. Loser has to do whatever the other says."

 

"And what happens if you're both wrong?" Audrey asked. She had been surprised at how much she had come to enjoy the badger who had become the mate of Ulric. She loved all of her sons, and daughters-in-law, equally, but she would be lying to claim that she hadn't been worried about Ulric, especially when he would go off his meds. But Honey seemed to have an uncanny ability to rein him, mostly, back in.

 

Honey shrugged. "A do-over with the next conspiracy."

 

"Well, there isn't a conspiracy here," Audrey said as she showed them in, "it's just going to be some teenagers that you'll find."

 

"Or they'll just **look** like teenagers!" Ulric supplied.

 

"Ully," Audrey said, holding up a paw and halting her son in his tracks, "yer brother and Dawn are here, and they brought their pups with them." Ulric's tail started to wag in excitement.

 

"And did they bring the unknown species with them? Excellent! We'll have an opportunity to observe the--" Ulric was cut off by a low growl. His ears laid flat and his tail tucked itself between his legs as he looked up at the angry face of his mother. It wasn't quite her _glare_ , which all knew to fear, but it still rendered him petrified.

 

"There ain't gunna be anymore talk like that, Ulric," Audrey said in a low voice. "She is a little girl, her name is Lily, and she's your niece."

 

"B-but c-can I at l-least collect some samples, Mama?" Ulric asked, a tremble in his voice.

 

"I'm pretty sure the answer is a no," Honey interjected. She gave Audrey a wink just as Ulric stuttered out a dejected "understood". The she-wolf's muzzle broke into a smile, her tail swishing back and forth.

 

"Well alright then, let's go and introduce you two," Audrey said as she turned. Ulric looked to Honey and let out a whine.

 

"Don't look at me, Ully," the badger said as she shrugged out of her pack and set down a bag she was carrying, "I'm in agreement with your mom on this one."

 

"You always take her side," he grumbled in response.

 

"Only when she's right," Honey said with a playful smirk. The two walked together towards the living room, where they could hear Audrey's voice, along with Vernon's.

 

"--said that they weren't gunna be here until next week?"

 

"Well, they seemed to have a bit of a change of plans," Audrey said, looking a little sheepish.

 

"Kids," she said, addressing Trevor and Lily, "I'd like fer you ta meet yer uncle Ulric and your auntie Honey."

 

Ulric entered, Honey leading him by the arm.

 

"H-hello," he said, twitching a little. His gaze immediately zeroed in on the strange little mostly furless mammal sitting on his brother's lap. He briefly took note of the little lamb boy looking at him, but his focus was on the mystery mammal.

 

_Assuming that she even is a mammal!_ was the thought that ran through his head at that moment, followed by an idea of how she might possibly be reptilian, or even part cephalopod.

 

"Hi, Uncle Ulric!" Trevor said, giving a wave.

 

"H-hi, Auntie Honey," Lily said, feeling shy and ducking her face a little behind Trevor's head floof.

 

"Hello there, kids," the badger said in a friendly voice.

 

"Hey, Ully, hey Honey," Vernon greeted the couple.

 

"Vernon! Wait, wasn't there a third one?" Ulric said, suddenly looking around.

 

"Yeah, Alice," Vernon explained, "Dawn showed her where the bathroom is."

 

"And you're sure that that's not just part of some plot to observe me in secret?" Ulric said, checking behind himself as though the two were going to be right there. Vernon rolled his eyes just as his ears perked up. He looked down at his lap to see his youngest pup sitting there, giggling while looking at her "energetic" uncle.

 

"You and Mommy were right, Daddy," she said, turning to face him, "Uncle Ully is silly!"

 

Ulric froze when he heard that, and turned to face Vernon, who was now rubbing the back of his neck.

 

"Silly? Is that what you've been telling your pups? Silly?! I am a serious researcher, Vern! Just last month, after finding a message hidden in the pattern of a spiderweb I almost walked into, I went looking for a unicorn, and I almost caught him on camera too!"

 

"Wait, ya mean that wildebeest truck driver who punched you out?" Vernon asked, taking a moment to try and remember the event in question. "Yer right, Ully, where are my manners. I should let my pups form their own conclusions."

 

"Hey now, he was in disguise! And I almost got him to show me his secret horn!" Dorian rolled his eyes as Vernon looked to be holding back laughter, while Audrey politely coughed into her paw, loud enough to be heard.

 

"Let's not discuss that incident in front of the pups, okay?" she said, grateful that Honey was distracting Trevor and Lily, whom she had led off of the couch and Vernon's lap a little bit away from the adult conversation, with a discussion about an upcoming game she had gotten some leaked footage of. Not that Audrey understood any of that techno whatsits. Ulric whined, but was quickly silenced by a look from Dorian, and nodded.

 

"I'll send your mom and dad the video later, okay?" Honey said with a smile.

 

"Okay, Aunt Honey!" Trevor said excitedly. Lily seemed about as enthusiastic as her brother, although the discussion of the game had gone a little bit over her head. Honey smiled and ruffled their heads before turning to address her mate.

 

"C'mon, Ully, we need to get all unpacked," she said.

 

"Alright," Ulric said, giving Lily a wide berth as he started to follow Honey, giving her a few more side glances as he exited the room. "I hope that the storm front doesn't negatively affect our equipment."

 

"Nah, once we get everything set up, it'll all be fine," came Honey's voice from the hall.

 

"Why do I get the feelin' that that ain't gunna end well?" Dorian asked.

 

"Because Ully's plans hardly ever end any other way, Pa?" Vernon chimed in.

 

"Oh hush, you two," Audrey said, just as Dawn returned with Alice, this time not holding her paw.

 

"We just encountered Ulric and Honey," the ewe said, "I take it that them meeting Trevor and Lily was... interesting?" Alice had taken the opportunity to sneak up behind her brother and sister in order to tackle them.

 

"Heh, it coulda been worse," Vernon said while smiling as their pups rolled around on the floor, all trying to pin each other. Dorian smirked at the sight while Audrey cooed.

 

"Oh, kids," Dawn said, making the trio pause and look towards her, "let's save the roughhousing for outside, okay?"

 

"Okay, Mommy!" Lily and Trevor chorused, while Alice said "Sure."

 

"Oh please, Dawn," Audrey said with a wave of her paw, "that doesn't even compare to what Vernon and his brothers got up to when they were around their age range... and even when they were older." The she-wolf was looking in Vernon's direction.

 

"Uh, hey kids," he said, hopping up from where he was sitting, "how 'bout we go explore the corn field?"

 

"Okay!" Lily said, heading for the door, prompting a still rowdy, and giggling, Alice to give chase, followed by Trevor. Vernon followed behind them, his tail wagging while his mother rolled her eyes. Dawn put her hooves to her muzzle as she let out a light laugh.

 

"Just like his old mam," Audrey said.

 

"What's that supposed to mean?" the law wolf asked.

 

"How about all those times you took the boys outside to drill them on police takedowns?"

 

Dawn started to head outside as well, just to make sure that the children would be careful not to fall into the stream, or get lost in the corn field. 

 

"I was just makin' sure that what I was teachin' 'em was stickin', Auddey!"

 

"And that just so happened to be right when I wanted to have a little chat with you about the _tree incident_?"

 

"Uh... coincidence?" The little ewe could hear the sheepish smile on her father-in-law's muzzle. When she exited out the front door, she saw Vernon sitting there on the porch swing, gazing out at the cornfield, listening to the laughter of their pups. Dawn took a seat next to him, taking one of his large paws in her small hooves. They sat together, occasionally checking the time on Dawn's phone. They sat there for a while, once spotting Ulric lugging something made of bright blue cloth out to the woods, hurrying back.

 

"It's just about time fer Zach and Vanna's shift to end, so I'm expectin' that they'll both be along shortly," Vernon said after they checked the time once again. Dawn nodded and gave his paw a happy squeeze.

 

"Kids," she called out. There was some more laughter before Trevor, followed by Alice and Lily, popped out from within the corn stalks. Dawn smiled and beckoned the pups over. "Your going to be meeting your uncle and auntie Zach and Vanna real soon."

 

"And they're just gunna love y'all," Vernon said. "So how's about we all head inside and wait fer 'em? Maybe we can all try those pies of yers?" That put more of a hustle in the excited children's step as they hurried inside. Dawn looked them each over as they ran past, checking to make sure that they hadn't gotten hurt, despite Vernon's earlier assurance. After Audrey served the pups a slice of their pies, they didn't have to wait long before Dorian's ears perked, picking up the sound of tires pulling up on the gravel driveway.

 

"They're here," he said, getting up to head to the door. He side-stepped around Lily, who was busy with her OMO coloring book, humming as she colored in one of the ostriches picking cherries. She reached for her crayons and didn't notice how when her paw came close to the white wolf's leg, he shied away a bit. It was ever so slight, but one set of eyes caught it. Unbeknownst to Dorian, his mate saw, and frowned a little, making a mental note to speak to him about it. Dorian made it to the door just in time to see his son and his daughter in law stepping up the porch steps. He greeted them, and Zach, as was usual for him, was excited to meet his nieces and nephew. Vanna, while stoic, seemed a little nervous to the older law wolf.

 

With a wide smile on his muzzle, Zach hurried into the living room, taking in the sight of Trevor, who was presently sitting in Audrey's lap, laughing at the pictures in the photo album she was showing him, while Alice was play-wrestling with Lily, who was now giggling, her coloring book forgotten for the time being.

 

"Hey, pups!" Zach said, opening his arms wide. "I'm yer uncle Zach!" He then bent down and, much like his mother had done earlier in the day, picked Alice and Lily up in a hug. Lily was quick to reciprocate, and Alice had let out another surprised yip before blushingly returning the hug as well. He then set them down, to look the two over. "Now, I take it that yer Alice," he said to the black pup before turning his attention to her sister, "and yer Lily."

 

"Uh-huh!" Lily said excitedly. 

 

"And I'd be willin' ter bet that yer Trevor," Zach said, his tail a happy blur. Trevor shyly nodded. Audrey wrapped a free arm around him and gave him a gentle squeeze.

 

"You'll have to get in line, Zach," Audrey said with a wink, "grandmas get priority when it comes to hugs."

 

"Awww," Zach said in mock disappointment, before leaning down to stage-whisper to the girls. "Don't worry, I'll get him just as soon as Ma lets her guard down." Alice and Lily giggled, all the while Dawn filmed. Vernon and Dorian chuckled at the display, and Vanna stood in the doorway, nervously shuffling her feet. She then noticed all eyes in the room were upon her, and Zach was beckoning her forward. "And here's your auntie Vanna!"

 

Lily was standing closest to the tigress, and stood there, staring. Vanna fidgeted a little, still feeling nervous. Internally, she was afraid that she might be scary for the pups, and was worried that she would be known as the _scary_ aunt. She was starting to look towards her mate for help, when she heard the soft voice of Lily.

 

"Wow... you're pretty!"

 

Vanna wasn't expecting that, especially considering how self-conscious she was about her appearance, the semi-regular occurrence of citizens mistaking her for a male officer being a factor there as well. But with that one statement, a blush spread across her face, and she let out an inadvertent happy _chuff_. Zach heard it, and his tail resumed wagging, knowing that that was a sign of his kitten's happiness.

 

"Thank you, uhm, Lily," Vanna said, a smile spreading across her blushing face when Lily reached her arms out for a hug. Bending down, the tigress wrapped both of her arms around her youngest niece and gently hugged her.

 

With the ice successfully broken, it didn't take long for the pups to warm up to their uncle and auntie. Zach was quick to ask them about the things they enjoyed doing, with Vanna chiming in. As they talked, Ulric could occasionally be seen poking his head in. Sometimes to stare at Lily, other times to stare at Dawn and Trevor. He looked about to say something when Honey dragged him off to look at something. It was approaching dinnertime when Dorian stood up and stretched a little, saying something about wanting to change out of his uniform. As he stepped around Lily again, who was too busy showing Vanna a picture she was drawing, Audrey saw once again him shying away from getting too close, and frowned.

 

The she-wolf stood up and promptly followed her mate out of the room.

 

"Do y'all wanna tell me what that was all about?" she asked, once she was sure that they were out of earshot of everyone. Dorian turned, looking surprised, his ears splaying flat on his head.

 

"What'cha mean, Darlin'?" he asked, knowing exactly what his mate was referring to, but trying to play innocent.

 

Audrey snorted and rolled her eyes. "Everytime Lily gets near you, ya shy away from her, like she's contagious or somethin'."

 

The white wolf winced at that. "W-well, Auddey, I'm not sure what ya think ya s--" he was cut off by a low growl. Audrey's face took on a dark look as, Dorian knew, was the onset of _the Glare_. "Okay, okay!" He held up both paws defensively. Audrey's features softened, but she was still looking stern as she stood there, arms crossed, clearly waiting for an explanation.

 

Dorian sighed and ran a paw through the fur on his head. "It's just that... she's somethin' that no one knows anything about. Sure, part of me feels like I've seen somethin' like her before, but fer the life of me, I can't remember anything other than that... It's just a little unsettlin' fer me, Darlin'."

 

Audrey was silent for a moment, the only sound audible was a nearby clock ticking. "Someone," Audrey said in a low voice.

 

"'Scuse me?" Dorian asked, confused.

 

"She's someone, not some _thing_ ," Audrey said.

 

"That's what I meant to say, Auddey," Dorian said, once again holding up both paws.

 

"She's also our grandpup," Audrey continued as though Dorian hadn't spoken, "and she's a sweet little girl, who hasn't done anything wrong, and doesn't deserve fer ya to flinch away from her like she was made of Nighthowlers. Yer lucky she, nor anyone else fer that matter, hadn't noticed how you've been actin'."

 

"I... I know..." Dorian looked down at his paws, having started to wring them. "I'm gunna try to interact with her more."

 

A smile crept up her muzzle. "That's more like it. I can tell ya that she, just like her brother and sister, were really nervous 'bout meetin' us. Remember what Clover said when she called?"

 

Dorian nodded, still clearly looking guilty. "I do, Darlin', and I mean it. I'm gunna try to be a better grandpappy." After he said that, Dorian found himself embraced by his mate, her tail wagging.

 

"Good! 'Sides, we can't have her and Cameron become their favorite grammy and pappy easily," she said, prompting a chuckle from Dorian as he hugged her back.

 

"It's not a competition, Auddey," he said, just knowing that she was rolling her eyes in response.

 

"Oh, o'course it's not, Dori," was her canned response. Having that taken care of, Audrey let Dorian go to change out of his work clothes, while she decided to get dinner started. Vanna and Vernon offered to help her, while Zach played with the pups, having already kept his promise of hugging his nephew when Audrey wasn't looking, much to Trevor's delight. Dawn filmed, feeling a warmth in her chest at how happy her lambs were to be meeting members of their family. The memory of when she had first come to the ranch and of how tumultuous that had been briefly flitted across her mind. But Dawn was determined to make sure that this first visit was one that would absolutely be a happy experience for her children.

 

Dorian returned shortly after, now in just a flannel shirt and jeans. He took in the sight of Zach mock-wrestling with Alice as Trevor now sat in Vanna's lap, the tigress looking a little uncomfortable but definitely doing her best to feign excitement as he showed her his collection of Samurai Snake action figures. Dorian chuckled before he was surprised by a slight tugging on his pant leg, and looked down to see Lily. She stood there, smiling trepidatiously.

 

"Yes, eh, sweetpea?" Dorian asked, feeling a little awkward but pressing on. Lily held up a piece of paper for him to take.

 

"I made you this, Grampa," she said, her voice filled with the hope that he would enjoy her drawing. Dorian took the paper and saw a picture of himself in his sheriff uniform, complete with sunglasses, smiling in front of the corn field. He beamed with a twinkle in his eye, as he admired how well it was drawn for a six-year-old.

 

"Well now," he said as he reached down to ruffle her headmane, "this here's a work o' art if I've ever seen one."

 

"You like it, Grampa?" she asked, delighted.

 

"I sure do. Why, I think you could have a career as a police sketch artist!" Dorian said, meaning it.

 

"Really?" Lily asked, "What's that?"

 

"It's someone who listens to the description of a mammal and then draws them, so that the police and everyone else knows who ta keep an eye out fer," Dorian said.

 

With a wide smile, she reached over and hugged Dorian's shins. He stiffened a little, and reached down to pat her head, trying to push past the unsettled feeling in his gut.

 

"Now, how 'bout I show y'all how ter perform some police takedowns?" he said loud enough for all three children to hear.

 

"Okay!" Alice said as she stood up. Trevor looked excited and hopped off of Vanna's lap, while Lily let go of his leg and started bouncing in place, thrilled to have her other new grandpa show her something.

 

"Alright, now, before I show ya, y'all gotta remember that this is only fer you to use in self-defense only, got it?" Dorian asked, seriously. Once all three pups nodded, his tail wagged a bit. "Alright then, Zach, c'mere. And Dawn, be sure to get this on film."

 

"Uh, Pa, m-maybe Dawn and Vernon don't want their pups to learn somethin' like this just yet," Zach tried, looking suddenly nervous.

 

"Oh, me and Puppy discussed it on the way here," Dawn chimed in as she turned her phone to where Dorian was walking towards Zach, "and we have no problem with it."

 

"Uh... m-maybe ya wanna try it out on Vanna then? Y'know, to show the pups th-that it can work on a larger opponent," that got him a light swat on the back of his head from his mate.

 

"Quit yer stallin', boy, and c'mere," Dorian said. Zach let out a small whine, and then stepped up. "Now watch closely, pups. This one I'll show ya a few times so you can understand it better."

 

Vernon had come out of the kitchen to see what the several yelps he heard were all about, and saw his Pa with Zach on the floor, pinned underneath him.

 

"See what I mean, pups? Try as he might, he's not gunna get away. O'course right about now is when the cuff or zip ties get used," Dorian said.

 

"If ya want, Pa, I can go grab one of yer spares," Vernon offered with a smirk.

 

"TRAITOR!" Zach cried as he continued to wriggle.

 

"Thanks, Vern, I'd appreciate it," Dorian said. A few more takedowns and holds later and they were all informed that dinner was ready. Dawn made sure that all of her lambs washed up first before they sat down to what was yet another amazing meal by her mother in law. After dinner, Dorian, much to Zach's despair, showed them a few more takedowns, which of course Dawn also got on camera, before he started to tell them some funny stories from work. 

 

The sky outside darkened, and Honey and Ulric periodically exited the house, carrying different electronic equipment. Soon enough, Dawn noticed that it was getting close to the children's bed time. After each hugging their uncle and auntie and their grandma and grandpa, Vernon started to herd them upstairs to the guest bedroom, so that they could get ready for bed. He was happy that his mother had lifted the rule against sons and their mates not staying in the same room, not only so that he could cuddle his ewe all night, but also to ensure that they were not too far away from the pups. Something he was quick to reassure them about as he tucked them in, the three sharing a large bed.

 

"I know that it can be weird goin' ta sleep in a new place. But me and Mommy will be right next door, okay?"

 

"Okay, Daddy," Trevor said, rubbing his eyes with his hooves. He was lying next to Alice, who was trying to hide Princess Floppington behind her back, one of the grey stuffed bunny's ears having flopped down to the side. Lily cuddled close to her brother and nodded to Vernon.

 

"Now, how 'bout a story?" Lily and Trevor both readily, if not sleepily, agreed, while Alice tried to play it off that she was only going along with what her younger siblings wanted.

 

 

_Later that night..._

 

 

After Zach and Vanna had gone home, Dawn and Vernon stayed up a little longer, chatting with Vernon's parents. When Dorian had showed off the picture of him, he got a playful swat on the arm from Audrey, who wanted to know why he got one, but Grandma hadn't yet? She then took the picture and put it where it would be prominently on display in the kitchen, on the fridge. It wasn't much longer before Vernon and Dawn turned in for the night, followed shortly after by Audrey and Dorian. It was in the middle of the night when Dorian got up to get himself a glass of water.

 

Dorian yawned as he walked down the darkened hall, stopping as his ears perked up and heard the sound of sniffling and scratching. He tracked it to its source, the hall closet. He grabbed the knob and tried to pull the door open. The rising humidity had a tendency to make the door stick, so he had to give it a few tugs before it popped open fully. Inside he saw Lily, tears running down her cheeks.

 

"Lily?" Dorian asked, confused. "What're ya doin' in there?"

 

Lily sniffled and wiped her eyes before answering, tearstains having run down her furless cheeks.

 

"I got up to use the bathroom, and when I came out, I couldn't find the bedroom. I thought this was it, but when I realized that it was a closet, I tried to get out, but the door wouldn't open!" she said, hugging herself.

 

"Okay, it's okay, uh, sweetpea," he said, at first still feeling a little awkward around her. She reached out for him, and his paws flinched back a bit. The look of hurt on the child's face, even in the darkened hall, was enough to make Dorian feel like kicking himself. He then reached out and scooped Lily up into his arms.

 

"How about your grandpappy tells you some stories of when your papa was a pup and got himself stuck," Dorian said as he carried Lily downstairs.

 

"Daddy got stuck in places?" Lily asked, her sniffles beginning to subside as her curiosity grew.

 

"And things," Dorian said with a deep chuckle as he made his way to his study. He took a seat behind his desk in his large leather chair, and settled Lily in his lap.

 

"I remember one time, I entered the kitchen, hearing this whining sound. There, yer papa was no older'n four, with a jar of peanut butter stuck on his muzzle." Dorian smiled at the laugh this brought out of Lily. "He was so scared, I had to practically hold him down to pull it off. And when I did, he was still licking all around the outside and inside of his muzzle. Took him a big glass of almond milk to make him stop."

 

"So Daddy was always silly like that?" Lily asked in between bouts of laughter.

 

"Oh yeah. There was another time when he somehow got himself locked in the barn. He musta been ten when he did that." Dorian continued to regale Lily with stories of when Vernon had done other silly things, feeling a sense of joy at bonding with his littlest grandpup. He felt another twinge of guilt over how unsettled he had been by her earlier. Once more he attributed it to the feeling of deja vu. He then noticed Lily yawning more and more. 

 

"I think that it might be time we get ya back to bed," Dorian said, beginning to stand up with Lily in his arms once more. She let out a yawn in response, followed by rubbing her eyes.

 

"Okay, Grandpa," she said, sleepily. He made sure to step lightly as he carried her out of his study and back upstairs. It was easy for him to locate the guest room that the pups were all sharing. He quietly entered, finding Trevor and Alice cuddled together under the blankets on the bed. Alice was nuzzling her stuffed bunny, while Trevor hugged a small throw pillow. Lily was already fast asleep, so Dorian was extra gentle and quiet as he lowered her onto the bed, tucking her in. He smiled before stealthily exited the room. He stopped in his tracks to see his smirking mate standing just outside the door.

 

"Well, it looks like ya warmed up to her after all," she said, very lightly.

 

"Of course," Dorian said as they walked back to the master bedroom together, "she's my grandpup after all."

 

Audrey's response was to lean in close and cuddle her mate.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> **And there you are, folks! Please feel free to leave a review!**

**Author's Note:**

> **And there we go, folks! The very first chapter of a brand new series! I hope that you enjoyed it so far, and will keep on enjoying the future chapters!**


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